More Than A One Night Stand
by flutetenorsaxplayer
Summary: Bella is married and a mother of two. She has a husband that seems to love his job more than he loves his family. So when Bella goes out with her friends to celebrate her 26th birthday what could possibly go wrong? Well, let's just say that waking in a bed that isn't your own counts as something that could go wrong.
1. Blame It On the Alcohol

**I want to start off by thanking my amazing team of proofreaders and Beta, **NemoNewbie**, **lovemesumedward**, and **kokobun**! If it wasn't for them this story would be less interesting (My opinion lol) Now I also want to start off by saying this story contains cheating spouses, thoughts about cheating, sexual tension, and probably a few other things I forgot to mention. Please be sure to review and let me know your thoughts of this opening chapter!**

**This chapter is titled "Blame It On The Alcohol" after the song by Jamie Foxx.**

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"_Oh come on Bella, loosen up a bit, let your hair down. It's not every day that you turn twenty-six!"_

"_Yeah, I mean if I remember correctly you didn't even properly celebrate when you turned twenty-one. Think of tonight as a way to make up for lost time."_

Speaking of time, why is my alarm set to go off at 5:30 this morning? I usually don't have to wake up so early; Charlotte doesn't have to be at school until _9:00_ so that meant I didn't really need to be awake right now. I loved sleep, I craved sleep. With a seven year old and a four year old who runs around like someone spiked his juice with Red Bull, sleep was a welcomed benefit of a child that still took naps during the day.

I groaned a bit as I started to wake up. I would have to remind myself to grab Alice by her short pixie black hair and yank all of it out. This was why I made it a conscious effort to _not_ drink anything stronger than a strawberry daiquiri; I end up waking up with a splitting headache and feeling like I've been run over by a bus and that same bus backed up and ran over me again. I groaned as I slowly moved around to get the covers off of me. I took in a breath and braced myself for the brightness of the morning. This was a reason why I don't drink much, _and_ when I do drink, I end up hung over the next day.

When I opened my eyes I was surprised that the curtains weren't opened all the way – this made opening my eyes a lot easier. I was able to take in my surroundings and when I sat up and turned to get out of bed, I saw the knee-length black sequined dress I was wearing the night before strewn on the floor, along with my bra and panties. The longer I stared down at my clothes the more I realized that this was not my house – my bedroom had hardwood floors.

This isn't my bedroom – this isn't even my home. More memories about last night started to come forward.

"_Well hello, I wondered how long it would take you to come over here and make the first move."_

Oh. My. God.

"_Oh come on Bella, loosen up a bit, let your hair down. It's not every day that you turn twenty-six!"_

"_Yeah, I mean if I remember correctly you didn't even properly celebrate when you turned twenty-one. Think of tonight as a way to make up for lost time."_

_I couldn't help but laugh as I started to feel the full effects of the numerous shots of tequila I've had in the last half hour._

_After my, what I think to be, fifth shot – which in reality is more like eighth – I couldn't help but notice a very handsome man sitting a few bar stools away from me and my friends. I couldn't help but get a bit turned on when I saw how he was staring__at me. _

_Now I'm not sure if it's the alcohol talking or I've finally decided to grow a back bone, but I find myself walking over to this strange man; I don't even blush when I hear the group of ladies behind me cat call and whistle at me for finally coming out of my shell._

"_Well hello, I wondered how long it would take you to come over here and make the first move."_

_Wow, I had no idea he had piercing emerald-colored eyes and I found myself getting lost in them. Then I remembered that he was attempting to flirt with me and I was just standing there like a complete idiot. _

_He must've found my sudden muteness humorous because he cracked a crooked smile and gestured for me to sit down next to him. I gladly accepted and I politely called for the bartender to give me another round. I'm not sure why, but I found myself wanting to forget all about the drink and run my fingers through his hair while I locked lips with this man I've just met._

_I could feel that the alcohol was lowering my inhibitions._

"_How about you go easy on the tequila shots? Why not try something else?" The stranger asked as he looked me over from head to toe._

It was all starting to come back to me now. I couldn't even begin to understand why I even let myself do something so completely stupid. I flopped my head back on the pillow. I let out a long aggravated groan and tried to weigh my options – I could either suck it up and face the auburn-haired Adonis, or I could get dressed and make an attempt to sneak out without him ever knowing.

_Oh come on Bella, you're smarter than that; of course he's going to notice you're gone._

I got myself dressed and attempted to quietly make my way to the door. I didn't bother fixing my hair; I had more important things to worry about at the moment – like having to have the awkward confrontation the morning after a one night stand.

_One night stand._

Oh my god, I can't believe I let this happen. I mean I'm married, I have two wonderful kids at home waiting for me and I go and do this!? I will admit that last night was the most amazing night I've had in a very long time. Don't get me wrong I love my husband, but lately it's like he is so caught up in his work that all he has time for is a "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" type of sex anymore.

I let out a sigh of relief when the door did not squeak very loud as I opened it. I took one last glance at my reflection in the mirror and made a few adjustments to my knee-length black sequined dress and ran my fingers through my hair to get out some of the tangles in it. As I slowly walked down the hallway, I could hear the faint muffling of what sounded like a radio playing, along with the sizzling of something being cooked on the stove.

_Wow, he's making me breakfast – correction, he's making himself breakfast; I just happen to be here._

I shouldn't even be wishing he would invite me to stay for breakfast. I need to get home and make sure that no one suspects anything; then later I would strangle a certain sister of mine. I got to the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner to see the auburn-haired Adonis facing the stove, with his back to me. But that wasn't what took me by surprise. He was completely naked, except for the apron he was wearing.

I must be still under the lingering effects of alcohol or something, because I can't stop the image of me walking up behind this gorgeous Adonis and grabbing a nice big handful of that wonderfully sculpted ass of his. But I managed to keep myself from doing so and continued to quietly make my way to the front door. I had just passed the leather couch when the front door to the apartment slammed open and I was greeted with yet another breathtakingly gorgeous guy, who had muscles for days and a very short crew cut – this caused his brown hair to look closer to black. When he walked in all smiles, his smile widened when he set his gaze on me.

"Hey, the name's Emmett, you must be Romeo's latest _special friend_." The man, who I now knew as Emmett, spoke as he continued walking in and I turned to see him take a seat at the table, anxiously waiting to be served whatever was being served for breakfast this morning.

I was frozen from shock. My one night stand and never got around to introducing ourselves properly, and now there was yet another handsome guy that I would have to stare at. Emmett and the Adonis were making idle chitchat – it was something about where Emmett had gone off to last night and why he was just now showing up at home – and I was just so stunned at how human my Adonis appeared to be. I mean he has god-like features it was a bit of a shock to see him acting so human.

"Do you want to stay for breakfast? I'm making scrambled eggs and pancakes. You're welcome to help yourself." The Adonis spoke to me. I was still in shock from everything that happened in the last few minutes – what with me trying to sneak out of the house, then meeting Adonis's very blunt roommate, then getting invited to eat breakfast with the man I had slept with the previous night.

I couldn't stay here; I couldn't eat breakfast like it was just another normal day. I needed to get home and do damage control. I declined with a simple shake of my head and without another word I quickly left his apartment. As I closed the door behind me I heard muffled voices, but didn't bother to stay and see what they were saying about me. I just wanted to get home. My patience was wearing thin; the stuff they call 'music' in this elevator was grating on my already frayed nerves.

I couldn't wait to get into my car and hope that I would forget that any of last night ever even happened. But it wasn't until I got to the sidewalk outside his apartment building and searching for my car that I realized I left the bar last night with the Adonis.

_Buzz…buzz…buzz…_

Her ears must be burning with all the mean things I was currently thinking about my little sister, Alice, who had to decided to call me right this very minute. I so wanted to tear into her about how she and Rosalie both tricked me into going out to a bar to celebrate my twenty-sixth birthday. I mean I may have accidentally mentioned how I didn't really celebrate my twenty-first birthday, and my sisters automatically thought that meant they should take me out to a bar and get me hammered to the point that I left with a strange man – for all they knew the Adonis could've been one of those predators who raped drunk and helpless woman.

"_Hey Bells, I just wanted to check in with ya. Last night was awesome wasn't it?!"_ I wanted to strangle my sister through the phone. She obviously had no clue that I even left them to go and screw a man I'd never met.

"Oh, I'm just _peachy!_ I've always wanted to wake up in a bed that wasn't my own and then have that awkward conversation about how you needed to get home and couldn't stay for breakfast."

I smiled as I heard Alice starting to piece together everything that happened last night. Now, she would know the full gravity of the situation I was in.

"_Well, I'm sure that the guy was so much better in the sack than Garrett is. I mean, I remember you telling me how lately you and your husband's sex lives have dwindled down to 'wham; bam; thank you ma'am'. Tell me all the juicy details. Did the guy live up to all the hype?"_ I seriously wondered sometimes if Alice and I were really related. I mean if we didn't have the baby pictures to prove it – not to mention the same hair color – I would question if we were sisters.

I'm nearly eleven months older than Alice, but I swear we are more like twins – twins that are polar opposites – and even our mom resorted to referring to the two of us as "the twins."

"I really wish you didn't have to be so negative about your feelings of Garrett, he is the father of your niece and nephew, you know." Alice is the best aunt, at least where Alex and Charlotte are concerned. They practically worship the ground Alice walks on. Charlotte, I swear she is like a miniature Alice sometimes. She loves shopping, and she loves to play with my makeup when she thinks I don't know about it.

"_How are my favorite niece and nephew doing anyway? Do you think Lottie's going to like her Frozen-themed birthday party? And speaking of Frozen, I have the perfect Elsa costume picked out for her!" _Alice trilled with excitement. Charlotte, who would be turning eight in four whole days, is thoroughly obsessed with the movie _Frozen_ and decided months ago that it was the theme of her next birthday party.

"She is excited for her birthday party, Hank is almost finished with the birthday cake, and Celia is more than thrilled to help me decorate the house for the kids." Hank and Celia are Garrett's parents, and they basically forced themselves into the planning of Charlotte's birthday party. Hank owns a bakery on the south side of Chicago, and he offered to make the cake free of charge.

Though Garrett, who is working at Katz Law Office as a criminal law attorney and makes more than enough for us to order our own cake, Hank and Celia are overbearing and take over control of anything concerning my family. Granted, Garrett is their only son, which means that Charlotte and Alex are their only grandchildren, but they take it too far sometimes. I still remember when I was pregnant with Alex and Celia offered to stay with me and Garrett so that I could take it easy.

Sounds good enough, but it got to the point that Charlotte asked me if Celia was her grandma or her new mommy. I decided right then that Celia needed to go and that I would be perfectly OK okay on my own. I assured her that she could come and visit anytime she wanted.

"_Good to hear…oops…I've gotta go Bells; make sure to give Rosalie a call. I know she's waiting to hear how it went with Talk Dark and Handsome too." _I swear I could hear Alice grinning through the phone. I rolled my eyes at how she didn't bother hiding her discontent with Garrett. My mom and dad seemed to like him just fine, so why couldn't my sister like him? I just sighed, hung up the phone and threw it back in my purse.

_Fuck…how the hell am I supposed to get back home?_

"You look like someone who needs a ride home." I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to see that it was the Adonis, and he still looked amazing even with his clothes on. I couldn't find my voice; all I could do was stare at him. This apparently was amusing to the Adonis because he looked at me with a crooked grin and asked the question again. I still couldn't find my voice so I resorted to just nodding my head.

He asked me where I lived, and it was then that I found my voice again and told him that I just needed a ride back to my car. I couldn't have him drive me all the way home, especially since he lived in the city and I lived all the way in Midlothian. Plus, I didn't want this Adonis to see that I had a completely different life.

The Adonis just shrugged his shoulders and agreed to take me back to the bar.

We walked over to his car and I was a bit surprised to see that he wasn't driving the traditional sports car I envisioned; he drove a silver Volvo. For some reason I pictured him driving some sort of convertible.

It was awkward the entire car ride back to the bar parking lot. I couldn't get the image of this man wearing nothing but the white apron I had seen him in not even fifteen minutes earlier. I swear, if I wasn't happily married I would latch on to this man and never let go.

"Ok, um, well it looks like we're here." The Adonis stumbled for words. I just nodded and got out of the car before he had a chance to walk around and open the door for me. I said a quick thanks and goodbye, got into my Kia Soul and drove off. I did, however, look back in my rear view mirror and saw the Adonis standing next to his Volvo watching my car as I drove off. Though I was glad I could now put this all behind me, I did feel a bit sad that I would probably never see this man again.

On the drive home, segments of last night continue to float through my head.

_Adonis and I are stumbling through his living room as we practically rip each other's clothes off. Just when my hands get to his belt, he grabs a handful of my hair and forcibly pulls back, exposing my bare neck to him._

_I feel my panties start to dampen when his teeth rake down my neck. I can't hold back the moan when I feel his free hand roughly grope between my legs._

_Next thing I knew Adonis has me pinned underneath him and his hands rake down from my naked breasts to the hem of my black lace panties. All I could think about was how much I wanted him to rip them off and take me right then and there. Then, as if he could read my mind, he ripped them off and immediately thrust himself inside of me. Every time I shouted with ecstasy, it seemed to spur Adonis to go further._

_The alcohol was doing a helluva job of lowering my inhibitions, because this was something that Garrett would never even attempt to try with me._

Before I knew it I was finally home. I pulled into the garage and walked in through the kitchen. I checked the clock on the wall and it read _7:10_. I still had about an hour before Charlotte needed to go to school and Alex and I would spend the rest of the day together.

I quietly walked up the stairs and successfully made it to my room and shut the door when I heard childish giggling coming from the hallway.

"_Are you excited for your birthday Charlotte Diane Jacobsen?"_ I heard the familiar voice of our maid slash babysitter, Victoria; ask as she playfully chased her down the hallway. I smiled to myself. I thought of Victoria as an older sister, she may be 'hired help' as Celia likes to refer to her behind Victoria's back, but she is one of my best friends. I've known her for a while now, almost six years. I even know that she and James, the butler – but more like Garrett's adviser – are having a secret romance. I swear, they think no one is wise to how they look at one another, but someone would have to be blind not to see how James looks at Victoria when she isn't looking.

I finished changing into more kid-friendly attire and quietly walked out into the hallway. I was a bit surprised I didn't hear or see my children running around trying to put off getting ready for the morning. As I slowly walked down the stairs to the family room, I could hear faint laughter and a muffled discussion coming from the kitchen. I neared the kitchen and the sight I saw warmed my heart. Charlotte and Alex were helping Laurent, our personal chef. It was Garrett's idea to cook both waffles and pancakes – Charlotte currently was on this kick that waffles were so much better than pancakes and would refuse to eat anything else Laurent would fix.

"Hi mommy! How's come you look like you a 'coon?" My son, Alex, asked me. I stiffened a bit. I hurried over to look at my reflection in the silver toaster and saw that I had forgotten to take my makeup off from last night – hence, why I currently looked like I could pass as a raccoon. I tried to come up with some sort of logical explanation that my four – almost five – year old son would understand. I wet a section of paper towel and proceeded to wipe away the evidence of what happened last night – no matter how wonderful it was – to buy some time to think up an excuse.

Thankfully though I didn't have to, the squealing tires of the approaching school bus drew attention away from me. Both Victoria and I helped get Charlotte ready for the bus and I watched as she got on and headed off to school.

"Mommy, can I dress like a 'coon too?" Alex asked me with a grin stretching from ear to ear. I sighed and told him that that wouldn't be a good idea, but I quickly changed the subject by asking if he wanted to go with me to have an early lunch with Auntie Alice in a few hours. Alex was thrilled and hurried off to go play. I sat there and thanked my lucky stars that my son was so easily distracted.

"So is there anything I should know about why you decided to come home at _7:30am_?" Victoria asked with a playful smirk. I just shook my head no and slowly sipped the coffee Laurent handed me as I thought about how I was going to have to pretend that last night never happened – that last night wasn't the most amazing sex I have had during eight years of marriage to my husband.

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**So what did you think? Be sure to review and let me know your thoughts! **

**I plan to update this story once a week (Every friday) I have a few chapters prewritten, which will help and IF i get ahead a bit I may update twice one week, otherwise expect an update every Friday! :) Oh, and if this story ends up getting pulled from fanfiction (This story will be rated M) I will have it up on my FictionPad (screen name is same as it is here) so be sure to follow me on FictionPad as well.**

**Thank you again for reading, and stay tuned for next week!**

**- Megan**


	2. Mean Girls

**I want to start off by thanking everyone who has read this story, added this to your favorites, added this story to their alerts, those who reviewed, and of course to all those who did all four of these things!**

**I won't go into too much detail as to what will happen, I will leave you guessing and wondering what will happen. **

**Lastly, I want to thank my proofreaders/betas **dolphins20**, **NemoNewbie**, & **lovemesumedward**. Sadly, my previous beta, **kokobun**, has injured her shoulder and will have to have surgery, leaving her unable to proofread and edit some of the chapters. Please pray for her and that she makes a fast recovery!**

**This chapter is titled after the song **Mean Girls** by Rachel Crow**

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"So tell me again about how you think that because you finally had an actual orgasm that you want to blame me for the fact that it wasn't Garrett that gave it to you?" I cringed a bit at how blunt my sister could be. I looked around at the other tables in the coffee shop to make sure no one could hear how crude Alice was being right now. Rosalie gladly agreed to take Alex to a nearby park in Midlothian while Alice and I went out to get a coffee at Dotty's Cafe and start party planning. Plus I had a good hunch that told me Rosalie knew I was pissed off at the both of them for getting me black-out drunk last night.

I was also thankful that Rosalie had moved back to Chicago. Living in Midlothian was a heck of a lot different than it is in downtown Chicago. Alice and Jasper own a two bedroom apartment close to downtown Chicago, and Garrett and I lived about an hour outside of downtown, in the little 'village' of Midlothian.

"Alice, for God's sake, do you have to be so blunt about my sex life? I mean, Garrett's and my sex life is just fine thank you very much," I said as I sipped my iced coffee drink. I diverted my eyes from making contact with hers, because I knew that she could tell I was actually very unhappy, and had been for some time. I love Garrett, I really do, but when it comes to the bedroom, he and I hardly ever have sex, and when we do it's over before it even starts. Last night with the Adonis was the most amazing, the most spine-tingling and wonderful sex I've ever had. The Adonis touched me in places that Garrett never had. I suppose that's also why I feel so guilty right now; the person who gave me the best sex I ever had wasn't even my husband – it was a complete stranger.

Alice replied, "Oh, don't be such a prude Bells, you don't have to pretend with me. Both Rose and I know that you're unhappy with Garrett – and besides, you know my feelings concerning that douchebag anyway."

Both Rosalie and Alice have never really liked Garrett. Rosalie never gave a real reason why she didn't; she would just tell me that Garrett gave her an uneasy feeling. Alice was very open about her negative feelings about Garrett, however. Alice told me up front that she didn't like him and that in the end, he would break my heart. I, of course, being the hopeless romantic that I am, chose to ignore both of my sisters' advice and now I think I may be paying the price.

"I am not unhappy with Garrett; it's just he's not around much right now. You know that he's trying real hard to make partner and it is his goal to be one of the youngest ever to be made partner at his firm, " I assured her. I knew I was making an excuse for how distant Garrett's been lately, but it was the truth, and he has been working longer hours to give his boss reason to promote him.

"So what, Jasper works the same hours that Garrett does, but he still manages to fuck me in all the right places," Alice bragged. I rolled my eyes and got up to get another refill of my iced coffee. I swear, sometimes I wondered if I was adopted, because Rosalie and Alice acted more alike than Alice and I did. Rosalie is technically our step sister – Rosalie's father married our mother when Alice was a junior and I was a senior in high school. The first few months getting to know Rosalie was a bit tense. She came off as uptight and snobby, but once we got to know her she was completely different.

After getting my refill, I sat back down and began party planning with my sister. She always had a knack for party planning, so she went to school to become a professional. I remember telling her that when she became famous and started planning big celebrity parties, she still needed to give me the family discount. After our coffee, we decided to go to Party City and get as much party decorations that would be a good match to the _Frozen_-themed birthday my Charlotte wanted so badly.

Due to the still-raging popularity of the Disney movie, we were able to get a lot of decorations that matched the theme and we even found an Olaf-shaped piñata. I let Alice be in charge of getting the candy while I needed to stop by the hotel Rosalie was staying in at the moment to pick up Alex then get back home to make sure Charlotte got off the bus all right. I ignored a snarky comment from my sister that I was becoming one of those moms who she and I swore neither one of us would become – mom who plans her life around her kids and never takes time for herself.

"Mommy, Auntie Rosie says I big 'nuff to go to preschool! Momma, what's preschool?" My son asked with confused look on his face. I squirmed a bit in my seat as I looked back at my son in the rear-view mirror. It's not that I didn't want my son to go to preschool, it was just that him going to preschool meant that he was growing up too fast for me. Soon, I would be home alone with nothing to do. I suppose I could go back to school and finish my degree. I was in the process of going to college for an English Literature degree when I found out I was pregnant with Charlotte.

I was a freshman in college when I first bumped into Garrett – quite literally – and the rest is history. We hit it off right away and the day I bumped into him I learned so much about him. I learned that he was a senior in college, and although he didn't come from a family with a lot of money, he had dreams of becoming a lawyer. He made sure to tell me that he wouldn't be one of those 'shark' lawyers that only cared about the size of the check they would get from each client. He wanted to help people and he wanted to give a voice to those who couldn't speak for themselves. That same year, during Thanksgiving break, I went with Garrett to spend the break with him and to meet his family. I met his mother, father, grandparents, and even his great grandfather. I learned a lot about his history and that his ancestors came over from Russia a long time ago. Henry, better known as Hank, Garrett's father, owns a very successful bakery on the south side of Chicago and even a few local celebrities order their cakes there. Celia, Garrett's mother, is a very sweet woman, but she still acts superior to people outside her immediate family. She is especially this way towards Victoria, Alice, and Rosalie. I wasn't aware of how rude she was towards Alice and Rosalie when I was out of the room until I saw first-hand when I unexpectedly walked in on her berating them about the clothes they happened to be wearing that day. Now I make a conscious effort to keep Celia in check when she is around my sisters and Victoria.

"Mommy, I wanna go preschool!" Alex shouts as he grins ear to ear and swings his feet around while in his car seat. Oh boy. I would have to talk to Garrett about this, because even though I would be sad that Alex would be gone for a few hours, I was more than ok with him going to make new friends. However, Garrett had made it clear that he didn't see the point of sending Charlotte to preschool since they learn the same things in kindergarten. I knew would butt heads about this, and I would have to come up with a way to would make Garrett think that Alex going to preschool was his idea.

"I dunno buddy, I'll think about it and ask Daddy about it when he gets back from his trip, ok?" This seemed to pacify the situation for now, but knowing Alex, the slightest mention of preschool later will cause him to continually ask about preschool to the point that Garrett would not be swayed to let him go to preschool at all.

Alex and I got back home with about ten minutes to spare before the school bus would be coming down the street. Victoria met us at the door when I pulled into the driveway. Alex bounced out of his car seat, raced to give her a big hug, and went on to explain what he did while he spent time at the park with Rosalie. I opened the garage door and took all the party supplies inside and hid them in the farthest corner of the room. I was so thankful that Alice offered to keep the Olaf piñata at her place, because that huge snowman would be hard to keep hidden from my inquisitive children.

I walked inside and saw Laurent sitting down at the breakfast nook and decided to take a seat down next to him. He was like the grandfather I never knew. He was a few years older than my own dad, but he still reminded me of a wise old grandfather. Laurent is a classically-trained French chef, with parents who still live in France. He originally lived in New Orleans and worked as a line chef for most of his career. He made it all the up to Executive chef, but after years of working in a hot kitchen, he decided to work as a private chef.

"So tell me chéri, why do you look so sad? Now, don't try and lie to me because you and I both know that you are a terrible liar," Laurent said. I couldn't help but smile at Laurent's attempt to make me smile. I also hated how he knew that something was bothering me especially when I tried very hard to keep my problems hidden. He also thankfully knew not to push me for information when I didn't want to talk about it. Lord knows that I would end up telling him all about how I slept with another man, who wasn't Garrett, and that I actually enjoyed it so much my legs still felt weak at the very thought of having the Adonis fuck me again.

"You know I love it when you see right through my attempts to put up a wall, but really Laurent, I'm ok. There's nothing wrong that can't be fixed when Garrett gets home tomorrow," I say with a polite smile and get up and go relax in the living room. It's then that I hear the familiar squealing brakes of the school bus. Alex runs to the big picture window to watch Charlotte get off the bus as I look on from behind him. Charlotte yells angrily toward someone behind her, runs into the house and up to her room, only stopping to throw her backpack down at to the foot of the curved staircase. Alex looked at me with a confused expression.

_What made a very happy and excited Charlotte come home in tears?_

I hurried upstairs to Charlotte's room and I could hear her soft sobs coming from under her sheets. This seemed serious since my baby girl doesn't cry easily. She didn't even cry when she fractured her arm after falling off of her bike when she was only six years old. When I sat down on the edge of her tie-dyed bedspread, I heard her sobs start to diminish. "Charlotte, what's wrong sweetie?" I gently pulled back the covers to reveal my daughter's tear-stained face. She was so my daughter – her eyes were bloodshot, with their lids bright red and puffy. Now, I know no one looks their greatest when they cry, but Charlotte was beautiful, even with the inherited red puffy eyes. I took my thumb and gently brushed away the tears from her cheeks. "Lizzie Malloy said that I couldn't have my party be _Frozen_ 'cause she already had her party be _Frozen_. Mommy, no one's going come to my party 'cause Lizzie is mean!" she cried. This caused Charlotte to go into another fit of sobs. I let out a calming sigh and continued to soothe and calm Charlotte.

_Lizzie Malloy._

Ugh, she was the daughter of Jessica Malloy, head of the PTA at Kolmar Elementary and she's room mother. Regarding her personality Elizabeth, or _Lizzie_, is definitely her mother's daughter.

I tried my hardest to convince Charlotte that we should keep the _Frozen_-themed party and that it will be so much better than Lizzie's party. This seemed warm her up to the idea. I hate that I had to basically tell my daughter to compete to show that she's better, but when it concerns Lizzie Malloy, I don't want Charlotte act like a doormat and let Lizzie walk all over her.

"Mommy, is Aunt Alice still making the Elsa dress we saw at Disney store?" Charlotte asked. I helped her tame the curls in her light brown hair that were mussed from when she was laying under the covers.

"Yes, Aunt Alice is still making your Elsa dress, and I have a feeling it'll be even better than the one in the Disney store." I still can't believe Alice promised to make her a dress. She's busy with going to school and building up her repertoire so that an event planning company will hire her, but she is still able to make the dress from scratch – and from what I've seen so far, it looks like it could be an exact copy of one from the movie.

"Good, that'll show Lizzie Malloy that my party's gonna be _so_ much better than hers was!" Charlotte said with a devilish grin. Now there was he daughter I raised. I laughed and told her that if she had any homework, she'd better get it done. I had just gotten to the door when she stopped me and asked me something that nearly broke my heart. "Mommy, when is Daddy getting home? He's gonna make it back for my party isn't he?" My heart broke a little more when she pouted, her bright blue eyes sadly boring into me. I hated that Garrett had to work so much as of late. He tells me it's because he wants to make partner, but this week he's been out of town overseeing the setup of one of the law firm's new satellite companies. I try my best to explain to the kids that while Daddy's away that he still loves us and that he's just working extra hard to make sure we still get to have all the things we love to play with – especially with a four year old who asks every night while Garrett is gone, "When is Daddy getting home?"

I tell Charlotte that Daddy is going to be back in time for her party and that he will have a special birthday present for her that will make Lizzie so jealous.

"Good, are Grampa Hank and Gramma Celia gonna still make my _Frozen_ birthday cake?" I made the mistake of talking about Charlotte's birthday cake with Alice while she was in the. I swear that child has supersonic hearing sometimes. I was telling Alice about how Hank and Celia offered to make Charlotte's birthday cake, and added that I wasn't sure why they even ask anymore – they've made the kids' birthday cakes since they were born. I reassure her that they are making her cake and that it's going to be so pretty she won't want to eat it. She proceeds to tell me that that could never happen.

Ahh…what I wouldn't give to be her age again.

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**So what did you think? Let me know in the reviews, and I am planning on making a more conscious effort to replying to your reviews for this story! (if I reply late I apologize, I got so many alerts/follows/reviews that my email decided to put them in my junk inbox lol)**

**Please be sure to review! and stay tuned for next Friday! ;)**


	3. Suspicions

"Are you sure these balloons look good there, tied up in the corner? Aren't you afraid they'll pop this close to the heat of the stove?" I asked Alice as she was decorating the house with balloons ranging in different shades of blue. Alice even made arrangements for a bouncy castle to resemble the castle Elsa built herself in the movie.

_Yes, I've seen Frozen a few hundred times._

Charlotte's birthday was technically tomorrow, but we were celebrating her birthday today on a Saturday. My birthday was on the seventeenth of September, and Charlotte's was a few days after mine on the twenty-second. It had been a few days – about four days to be exact – since I slept with the Adonis, and I still couldn't get him out of my head. Thankfully Alice distracted my thoughts by telling me that she had talked to a guy who could bring a snow machine and make a 'winter wonderland' in our backyard. This was yet another reason I loved that Alice took over when it came to planning parties. This way, I could sit back and just watch and not have to keep Alice confined to traditional decorations for a birthday party. Alice loves to go all out, and I know that she loves spoiling Charlotte and Alex.

"Now Alice, when did you say Mom, Dad, and everyone were coming?" I asked. See, our parents divorced when Alice and I were in high school and since then my mom got remarried and my dad is currently dating someone. My dad, Charles "Charlie" Swan, is the chief of police in a small town in Washington state is dating a woman who owns the only diner in Forks, and my mother, Renee "Swan" Hale, married Phillip Hale, a well-known contractor who owned his own contracting company. He built the house him and my mom lives in.

This is how I got Rosalie as a sister. I still couldn't believe it back when Mom told me that she was getting married again – I mean my mom is very flighty and hates to be tied down. Phil is the complete opposite of my mom and it's a wonder they've been married nearly fourteen years now. They married a few months after my parents' divorce was finalized in 2004.

Rosalie and I thought that it was a bit too soon for my mom and her dad to get married, but Alice thought that it was so 'romantic' that Mom was able to fall in love so quickly after being married to our dad. Speaking of my dad, he has been dating a woman who owns the diner in Forks for a few months now. I think he said that her name is Sue Clearwater, and she has two children from a previous marriage. Apparently Sue's husband died from a heart attack a few years back. My dad and Sue had always been very friendly towards each other. I was happy for him; it was good to see that he was happy again.

The divorce hadn't been his idea, but he went along with it because he knew that it was what my mother wanted.

"Mom texted me from the airport that she and Phil are going to be here within the hour and dad will be here with Sue and our soon to be stepbrother and step-sister in two and a half hours," Alice replied. This would definitely be interesting having both my mom and dad under the same roof with their new significant others. Now, don't get me wrong, Renee and Charlie rarely fought or raised their voices, but it was always a bit awkward when they would be in the same room since the divorce – and now add in Seth and Leah, Sue's children, and this would definitely be an interesting birthday party for Charlotte.

"Are you sure you bought enough alcohol? I mean, you know how Mom gets when she and Dad get around each other. I swear she drinks so much that I'm surprised she hasn't grown gills yet," I said.

Alice stated, "Mom is not an alcoholic…but you may be right about the wine part. Do you think Garrett would mind going to the – "

"Do you think Garrett would mind going to what?" Garrett said as he walked into party planning central – also known as my kitchen – after attempting to assemble the decorations he was tasked with putting together. I was so happy that he had decided to come home a few days early. He came home last night and told me that he didn't want to take the chance of missing Charlotte's party, and, of course, he missed me too. Things were still as they always were; we hugged and then went about our day as if nothing was wrong. We even had our normal…boring sex. He was asleep minutes afterwards and I was left wanting more of that hot, passionate, spine-tingling sex I had gotten from the Adonis.

_Stop it Bella, you're married, you love your husband. You can't be fantasizing about having sex with a total stranger._

"Oh I had forgotten that the whole family was coming this time. What is your mom's favorite kind of wine again, Bells?" Garrett asked.

"I think I remember her telling me that it was Merlot," I said as I went to the wine cabinet to scan over the different bottles Garrett and I had for only special occasions – and well, my mother and father spending time together in the same room counted as a special occasion.

"No, that's the wine that has blackberries in it and Mom hates blackberries apparently. Um, I think I remember at last Mother's Day dinner she had bought a new bottle of Riesling, and seemed to really like it," Alice added. Of course, why didn't I remember that? That's probably because I was too busy running interference between Mom and Charlie. I swear, for two people who were high school sweethearts they are so uncomfortable around each other lately. I just hope that this party would break that tradition of my mom drinking down wine like its water and my dad staying outside trying to give Garrett grilling tips.

For the life of me, I still didn't understand why they acted so awkward and clipped to one another, when in all actuality; they both signed the divorce papers willingly. I guess my mom thought that my dad would wind up alone, and didn't really expect him to find someone else that he cared about as much as he cared about her and I think that really upset her more than she cared to admit. Thankfully Phil was completely supportive and he knew my mom and dad's history; he tries his hardest to distract my mom when she starts to head for her third glass of wine.

"OK, so I'll go to the store and pick up a bottle of Riesling. Do you mind if I take Alex with me?" Garrett asked. He grabbed his keys and gave me a quick peck on the cheek when I agreed. I hollered after him that we also needed a couple bags of ice. I watched as he headed for the garage and Alex trailed after him to his car. I was suddenly jerked from my daydream by what sounded like two cats fighting over a dead mouse, when it was actually Alice and Rosalie squealing at first seeing one another – I swear it's like they haven't seen each other in years instead of only two days ago. But I decided to ignore it and went to go find Charlotte. If I knew my daughter, she was up in her room waiting to make her grand entrance when her friends from school arrived. When I got to her room, I wasn't disappointed she was in front of her pink mirror, twirling around in her blue Elsa dress. I couldn't help but smile right along with her.

"Hello sweetie, Aunt Alice did a really good job on your dress didn't she? Now, are you ready for me to do your hair?"

"Can you make it look like Elsa's when she wears this dress in the movie?!" Charlotte replied excitedly. I couldn't help but laugh and agreed to fix her hair just like Elsa's – it took a lot of bobby pins and hairspray, but I was finally able to get her hair to where it was almost identically matched the Disney character's hair. When I finished, I let her go to the mirror and look at it. I think she liked it – between the screaming and shouting about how beautiful it was, I mean; she even told me that it was _just_ perfect. I couldn't help but smile right along with her when she said that Lizzie Malloy would be completely jealous.

Yes, I was that kind of parent. The kind of parent who competed with the other mothers to see who could throw the best parties for their kids – and I would win by a landslide because I had one thing that they didn't have.

_Alice_.

Alice planned everything. She managed to get the bouncy castle, she had a guy coming over soon that would cover the backyard in fake snow, and she had a make-up artist coming to do face paint for the kids who wanted it.

Soon though, the kids had arrived and the gift table was overflowing. It was time for Charlotte to make her grand entrance. Garrett and I waited at the foot of the stairs while I called all the kids' attention to the stairs and called for Charlotte to come down. All the air seemed to leave the room when all the kids collectively gasped as Charlotte walked down the staircase. I couldn't help but smile wider when I saw the jealous look on Lizzie Malloy's face.

"Ok, now that we have Charlotte, why don't we all go out back for a fun little surprise?!" Alice announced and was met with a bunch of kids screaming and giggling as Charlotte led the charge to the backyard. When they got to the backyard, there was another loud collective of screaming and cheering when the children they got a good look at all the fake snow on the ground.

"This is a wonderful party, Bella. You, Alice, and Garrett really outdid yourselves. Now, Sue and I would like for you and Alice to meet us in the family room; there's something we want to tell you kids that I think you all will like to hear." Charlie said. I had a sneaking suspicion what he had in mind and I knew that Alice was suspicious as well – mainly because she had on her innocent-looking expression. Garrett pushed me to go on and stated that he and the other adults at the party would watch the kids. I sighed and followed my father.

I took a seat next to Leah, who was the spitting image of her mother, Sue. Leah had shoulder length black hair, dark brown eyes, and a somewhat-tanned complexion – from spending time out in the sun no doubt. Seth, Leah's younger brother, sat next to her. He also had dark brown eyes and black hair, the latter of which he had obviously spent way too long in the bathroom styling, but his tanned complexion was a tad bit darker than Leah's. . Leah was a senior in high school, while Seth was a sophomore – but you would never guess that because Seth had a good few inches on me, which made him appear older.

"Now Seth, Leah, you know how your mother and I have been dating for a few months now?" Charlie asked the two teenagers next to us. Alice and I exchanged a knowing glance; we both knew where this conversation was headed, but it seemed that Leah and Seth didn't have a clue, and if they did, they hid their emotions very well. "What Charlie is trying to say is that, well, we have decided to take our relationship to the next logical step. Charlie and I have decided to move in together," Sue explained.

"Oh that's good news! So, does that mean that Leah and I would live with Billy then?" Seth asked. I couldn't believe he wasn't putting two and two together, but granted I thought the conversation was going to go a bit differently, but this is just as wonderful news. "No, idiot, it means you and me are moving with mom to live in Charlie's house." Leah announced before stalking off to a different room. I could tell that she was upset about the news; it had only been about a year and a half since their dad passed away from the heart attack. I guess it was hard for Leah to deal with right now. Sue quickly went after her to try and console her, while Seth just sat there staring at Charlie for a few minutes before finally uttering, "Ok, that's good too. Living with you could be cool I s'pose." Then with that, Seth got up and walked out of the room and out to the backyard to get in on the snowball fight action.

"Well, I had hoped that would've gone a bit better. You girls are alright with my asking Sue and the kids to move in with me, right? I don't want to make you two uncomfortable," Charlie added sincerely. I loved how thoughtful my dad could be – I always tried to emulate that part of him by putting other people's feelings before my own – which is probably another reason I was secretly unhappy in my marriage.

"Of course we're happy Dad, and besides, Bella and I both thought you were going to announce that you two were engaged or something. But moving in together is good news too. Don't worry about Leah, she'll warm up to you and she'll see how cool of a dad you are," Alice said and gave him a hug. She then announced that she wanted to see how the kids liked the snow. I hurried off with Charlie to go find Sue and Leah.

I had just gotten to the kitchen when I heard muffled voices coming from Garrett's office. It was Garrett's voice and he sounded angry and upset. I decided to go see what was up, but what I heard when I got to the doorway both worried and confused me.

"…No, I can't come and visit this weekend….no it's my daughter's birthday party." Oh, and it got even better the more I listened. "…I know I haven't seen you guys in a while…yes I miss you, you know that…yes I love you too…" I had no clue who Garrett was talking to, but I knew that it was _not_ work-related. I decided to make my presence known and knocked on the door jam. I could tell I startled him, and I took a little bit of pleasure in doing so. I asked him who was on the phone and Garrett just shrugged it off. I wanted to argue about it, because it seemed like a whole lot of something going on. But I decided to remind him instead of the fact that it was Charlotte's party and that it was getting close to time to blow out the candles.

Garrett agreed and said he would be out in a few minutes after he made a few more phone calls concerning work.

_Yeah, work…that's what it was..._

I didn't believe it at all, but decided to keep my mouth shut.

For now at least.


	4. It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To

**Happy Friday everyone! Thank you so much for your reviews and I also want to start out by saying that Garrett does NOT have a secret family on the side (But that would've been cool to write lol), this was the general consensus in the reviews I received for last chapter.**

**This is the second half of Charlotte's birthday party. Everything goes somewhat smoothly until close to the end of this chapter. (You wouldn't have it any other way right ;) lol)**

**I want to take the time to thank **NemoNewbie, dolphin20, and Susan Robinson**! They help make sure these chapters are presentable and stay consistant! :) Now, enough of me, here is chapter 4, It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To (song by Lesley Gore)**

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"_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Charlotte, happy birthday to yyyooooouuu!"_

All the kids sang loud and off key – as kids tend to do at birthday parties when they're hopped up on sugar. I would have to make a mental note that when it would be time for Alex's birthday to make sure to do a better job of hiding the piñata candy.

Charlotte was grinning from ear to ear as she waited a couple seconds before blowing out the candles on her cake. Which I would have to remember to thank Hank and Celia for making; it was absolutely amazing, I almost didn't want to have to cut into it.

But then the kids would start a riot and it would be world war three so I began cutting and handing out small slices of cake. I was proud to see that my mom hadn't even opened the bottle of Riesling yet. I think it was great that she was able to make it through a family gathering without having a single glass of wine.

Once all the kids, adults included, had their mouths full of delicious chocolate cake I decided to cut myself a slice and sit down with Rosalie and Alice.

"So Rose, how is the apartment hunting going? Have you found any good ones? I mean if not, you could always look into getting a roommate to split the rent." Alice said as she took another small bite of her already small sliver of cake. I swear that woman acted as though if she had a regular slice of cake she would immediately swell up like a balloon and triple in dress sizes.

"I am still looking at different apartments, there's one apartment building in particular I'm considering. It's a bit out of my price range, but I think I can make it work." Alice and I shared a knowing look and just rolled our eyes. See, Rosalie comes from money, on her mother's side, and when her mother passed away she left Rosalie a good chunk of the money in a trust fund. When her, Alice, and I all became sisters we learned just how big that _chunk_ was; let's just say that with that amount of money she could feed a bunch of hungry starving people in third-world countries.

"Don't think I don't see you two rolling your eyes over there, "Alice and me busted out laughing. We loved giving Rosalie a hard time; she's really laid back when you get to know her. But she does tend to come off as cold and entitled when you first meet her. ", because I do, and I will have you know that I try to make that money last as long as possible." That was another thing that you didn't expect Rosalie to do – she was very good with handling money, and didn't want to take any handouts from her dad or grandparents.

When it came time to open the presents the kids' reaction was mixed – some wanted to hit the piñata, some wanted to play pin the tail on the donkey, and others to open presents. Of course we were going to do all of that, and I was going to let Garrett decide which we would do first, but he was nowhere to be seen. I found it annoying that he had been gone for the past couple days, and he just comes back from his business trip yesterday and he wasn't out here celebrating his daughter's birthday with the rest of the family.

I got up to throw away my paper plate and saw Garrett pacing back and forth in the kitchen talking on his cell phone. This wouldn't have concerned me – the man had his phone permanently to his ear it seemed like lately – but as I got closer to the trash can I could hear some of the conversation and it couldn't have been work related.

"_I've told you over and over not to call me on this phone…yes I can still come and visit…no I don't think anyone will know different…yes will be sure to let her know…"_

Who was he talking to? It was definitely not someone from work. I had met some of his coworkers at different office gatherings, and he didn't act like he was acting right now.

I quickly looked away from Garrett when he hung up the phone and raised his head in my direction. I wasn't sure if I had been found out, but I didn't want to stick around and chance it. I hurriedly sat back down with Rosalie and Alice and got lost in conversation. Garrett was walking over towards me, but was cut off by a group of kids led by Charlotte; she asked me if we could open her presents now and proceeded to give me her 'puppy dog' pout – the girl was lucky it was her birthday otherwise it wouldn't have worked so easily for me. Charlotte cheered and ran back to the picnic table and waited patiently while her numerous presents were stacked in front of her.

"Where should I start first mommy? There's so many presents to choose from." This caused all of the party guests to all talk at once whose present she should open first, and of course she picked out the present that looked to be the biggest first. It was wrapped in tie-dye colored wrapping paper. I instructed her to read who the card was from out loud so that I could write down the name of who gave her the gift so that she could write a thank you note later.

Charlotte laid the card aside and tore the paper to shreds to reveal something I was definitely going to regret her getting – a powder pink child-sized acoustic guitar. "It says it's from Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper – thank you Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper!" Charlotte said.

"Yes, thank you Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper." I deadpanned. My sarcasm wasn't lost on my sister and her husband, and I think I even detected a bit of remorse from Jasper. It wasn't that I didn't want my daughter to learn to play an instrument; it was the fact that she would be constantly playing it and driving both me and Garrett insane with her incessant playing. "Just wait, I'll make sure to get that kid-sized drum set Alex wants for his birthday." Alice teased at my expense. I knew she was kidding, but something told me that Alice would actually follow through with her threat.

As more and more presents were opened I had a good list started of who sent what that there was a sudden loud commotion coming from the kids, and when I looked up from my pad of paper I saw why. Garrett – with the help of Hank and Charlie – came carrying out pieces of what looked to be an entire play set. Now, this wasn't your average swing set, this swing set had a slide, an observation tower, and two swings with a trapeze bar that would go between the swings. I only knew the last part because I saw a display set at the local toy store a few weeks ago. Both Garrett and I agreed that we wouldn't buy the kids a new play set seeing as how the one he currently had had been plenty.

I wasn't sure if I should be angry with him or not, because I loved the reaction I saw Alex and Charlotte have with the sight of the swing set. But the fact that we had both previously agreed not to buy a new swing set made me very angry – I would have to make sure to let him know just how angry I was. I was angry because I knew how much that particular swing set was; it was four-hundred dollars.

"Thank you mommy, this is the best present I got!" Though I was plenty angry with Garrett about his constant need to spoil our children, I was happy to see Charlotte so excited. Alex was so excited that he was jumping around and squealing for Garrett, Jasper and my dad to finish putting the swing set together so that he could swing on it. Charlotte heard this and made it known to her little brother that she was first since it was her birthday, but Alex wasn't having it he wanted to swing and he pointed out that there were two swings.

I quickly diffused the situation and suggested that they both go and play with their friends they invited and play with some of Charlotte's gifts she received. Alice came over and asked me if this was the swing set that I had told her about, and added that she thought that Garrett and I decided to wait awhile before buying the swing set. I just shook my head – which was enough confirmation Alice needed. I looked around for Rosalie and saw her on the phone talking hurriedly and it must've been good news because she hurried over towards us all smiles.

"I just got the best news ever! That was the people of the apartment building I was telling you about – Optima Chicago Center – well they called to let me know they had an apartment available for me _and_ they even agreed to negotiate the rent down to a more reasonable price for me." Good for Rosalie, she had been talking nonstop about how she really wanted to move into this apartment building; apparently the amenities they offered were too good to pass up. "They also told me that I could move in whenever I was ready. Do you think you two would mind helping me move? Plus I can give you the official tour and maybe I can finally get you to work out with me Bella." Rosalie added for my benefit. I shrugged my shoulders and gave a noncommittal response. I wasn't really in shape, but I wasn't exactly out of shape either. Both Alice and I agreed to help her move some of her things from the hotel she was staying at to the apartment. I was very grateful when I learned that she was having her things moved from her place in Rochester to the apartment and even hired two guys from the apartment she met to help her move things into her room.

"Good, when we finishing helping you move the small stuff we have some eye candy to watch move the heavy stuff." Alice said with a grin. I couldn't help but grin right along with her – especially when Rosalie added that the two guys she met had told her they were personal trainers and worked out a lot in the gym. "Even better, they'll be all hot and sweaty…"Alice trailed off. I rolled my eyes when I noticed she started to drool and have a glazed look in her eye. ", what were we talking about again?" Alice asked when she came back down from her personal thoughts. I would never understand how my sister could be so boy crazy and she was married to a very good looking guy.

After about almost three hours the old swing set was taken apart, the kids were starting to go home, the new swing set was up and being used, and Charlotte's presents were strewn out all over the picnic table – some open and some still the plastic they came in. I couldn't hide the cringe I made when I heard what toy Charlotte was playing with. I knew she was happy with it, but I wanted to take out the batteries and hide them from her. Whoever the idiot was that made the Furby, needed to be locked in a room full of those creepy gremlins. I had one back when they came out in the 90's and it scared the crap out of me. I still remember when I was younger and got fed up with trying to get the Furby to work, I left the room and it went to 'sleep' and I swear, to this day even, that I heard the damned thing wake up and start talking and singing. No one was in the room with it – the lights were even off in the room.

My dad, Sue, Leah, and Seth had to leave and go back to Forks – something to do about how Sue wasn't comfortable letting Jacob and Paul babysit the diner, and also Leah had cheerleading practice, and Seth had some sort of party he didn't want to miss out on. We said out goodbyes and they were off. Soon after them my mom and Phil left, but not before I saw her take the unopened bottle of Riesling with her in her purse. This made me laugh so hard that I nearly couldn't breathe.

Only two kids were still left waiting on their parents to come and I decided to find Garrett and politely ask him why he went behind my back about the swing set. He was in his office when I heard him on the phone once again. The conversation was about the same as the last time I overheard his phone call. When he was finished I walked in and asked who he was talking to on the phone. I wanted to scream at him that he was lying about it being someone for work, and when he announced that he would be gone this coming weekend because he needed to do research for a client I wanted to call him out on it – but I decided to pick my battles, and I wanted to argue about the swing set.

"So, do you want to tell me why you decided to go behind my back and buy the swing set we both agreed we would wait and buy a different day? I mean honestly Garrett, are you stupid or something? I know you make enough money to 'spoil the kids', but come on that swing set is four-hundred dollars!" Ok, I was unloading on him, and letting my feelings about the phone conversations I overheard affect me, but I needed him to know how I felt right now. "I know how much it cost Bella – I bought the damned thing – and I just wanted to make Charlotte happy on her birthday, plus you're always telling me how you want to get the kids to go outside and play more, this way they can do that and be in the safety of their backyard.

_Ok, how in the hell did this get turned around to me being the bad guy?_

It was getting late and I heard Alice thanking someone for allowing their child to come to the party and then Alice hollering that the last kid had gone home from the party I was relieved. I've been going since about _8:00_ this morning and it was almost _6:00_ in the evening on a Saturday in September and the Sun was slowly starting to set; I just wanted to go to sleep at this point and skip dinner.

"I'm angry because we both agreed that we would wait to buy the swing set, and you go and buy the damned thing anyway! Garrett, I'm tired of you always saying one thing but doing another!"

"Oh, you really want to go down that road with me Bella? I'm _tired_ of you always nagging me – so what if I bought the swing set, the kids love it and they're going to have a blast. I make enough money that if I want to buy something 'frivolous' I can. I don't always have to check with you to make sure it's ok…I've had enough, I'll be back in time for dinner don't worry." With that Garrett was gone and out of the house. I wasn't sure where he was going, but I knew that both of us needed time to cool off. I knew that I had been a bit hard on him about the swing set – but I was not apologizing for telling him how I felt about him going behind my back.

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. Lately this was a reoccurring thing – I would either be in tears or near tears after a fight with Garrett. I managed to keep the waterworks at bay and went to go see how Laurent was coming with dinner. I watched Alex play with one of his toys he got from his room while Charlotte was still playing with her Furby.

I loved my kids, and I knew that Garrett did too – we were just going through a rough patch right now. We would be ok.

I hope…

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**What did you think? Let me know in the reviews and I will see you all next Wednesday! I will say that chapter 5 will be a bit steamier (Because we finally see a reappearance of Adonis! We even finally learn his name!) ;)**

**Be sure to review!**


	5. One More Night

**Hello all, this is the chapter you all have been waiting for! We finally get to see Adonis again and we even learn his real name (at least Bella learns his name lol)**

**Hope you enjoy! This chapter is titled **One More Night **by Maroon 5. **

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It was finally Saturday, and that meant moving day for Rosalie. Alice and I were going to help her move her things from the hotel she was staying at to her new apartment. I still occasionally thought about following Alice's advice and hiring a private detective to follow Garrett, and see if he really was busy with work. There was a tiny party of me that is seconds away from dialing that number, but then I am reminded that I honestly have no right to judge him when I am still having sexual fantasies about my auburn-haired Adonis. I also find myself thinking about what I would do if I could get my hands on him, or better yet, what I would want him to do to me.

Charlotte and Alex insisted on coming along for the adventure. This morning Garrett left for work, why he had to work on a Saturday I have no clue, but I'm sure that it was all part of his plan to make Partner at the firm. Normally, if Garrett had work on the weekends and I had plans, Victoria would stay home with the kids. I wasn't sure why I even bothered wondering if Garrett was telling me the truth not anymore. But the reason I decided to bring Charlotte and Alex along was because Victoria and James had a secret date tonight that they both thought I didn't know about. I didn't need to be a genius to know that they have been seeing each other since around the time I had Alex.

We arrived at the apartment building and I swear that it looked like a tower of mirrors – it looked like if you threw something all of the building would be gone. Now, I knew that that that was done for privacy reasons as well as to keep most of the sunlight out. Rosalie's apartment was on the twenty-second floor – there were forty-two floors! Obviously – and thankfully – they had elevators and we rode in silence all the way up to the room. When we got to her room and walked in I now understood why the asking price was so high. This room looked like it belonged as a background in Forbe's Magazine or something. It had a very sleek, very eco modern look to it, and I knew that after Alice and Rosalie got finished doing what they do best that this house would be beautiful.

"Mommy, when can we go home? It's boring watching Aunt Alice and Aunt Rosalie 'discussing' which curtains would look better in the living room." My Charlotte complained. I had to agree with her though, watching Alice and Rosalie arguing over whether or not the burgundy or maroon colored curtains would look better in the living room. Plus it didn't help that it was nearing _5:00_ and we had been here since before eleven this morning. But I looked around and saw that we had made serious progress to this apartment. While the kid and I were out eating a lunch Rosalie's new friends had moved the heavy furniture into her apartment and arranged it the way she wanted – Rosalie can be very particular.

I honestly didn't see the difference between the two different shades of curtains either, but apparently maroon said one thing and burgundy spoke a different language – or something to that effect; I lost interest a few minutes into the debate. I was seconds from gathering my kids and making a clean getaway, but was frozen in place when I saw who the two men Rosalie had hired to help move her furniture were.

_It was him._

I'd recognize those piercing emerald eyes anywhere. I still didn't' know his name, but I didn't need to know his name to see the recollection in his eyes mirrored mine as he was carrying in a heavy box labeled 'bedroom' from the hallway – the irony of that labelled-box was not lost on me – it was as if the universe were trying to push the two of together.

"Uh…eh hmm… Where would you like this to go Rosalie?" The Adonis said gesturing to the brown box in his perfectly sculpted arms; apparently my being here flustered him a bit, not that he would readily admit to that. I also needed to make sure I didn't run and jump into Adonis' arms and take him right now in front of everyone. Thankfully I found the strength to remain rooted where I stood. It seemed that my memory wasn't the only one going into overdrive – Adonis turned and saw me and I could see he was failing miserably to pretend as if he didn't already recognize me and want to jump my bones.

Rosalie motioned to her bedroom where the box could go and that I could show him where everything in the box was supposed to go. Though I so wanted to punch Rosalie, I refrained and led him to the bedroom – to say that this was déjà vu was an understatement. Once in the bedroom, Edward plopped the box down on the bed. I leaned over to look inside and checked out the contents of the box and saw that it was just her bedding and pillow cases.

"Who would've thought that your ass would've looked just as good, if not better, with clothes on?" I was grateful that my back was turned at that very moment, because he would definitely have found humor in how my cheeks reddened at his comment. I took in a cleansing breath and I had intended to correct him and scold him for making a comment. But when I did turn around and saw how close he and I were standing, my fight quickly vanished – what replaced it was that of pure lust. Everything around us both melted away, all that mattered was that he and I were here. I still didn't know his name, but at this very moment it didn't matter.

I was about to open my mouth to speak, but was silenced by his index finger buttoning my lips. My gaze moved upwards and our eyes connected. I couldn't even remember now what it was that I wanted to say; he had this strange effect over my brain to function normally. My breathing hitched a bit when I felt his coarse thumb stroke my bottom lip – he still made sure not to break eye contact with me.

As if my prayers had been answered his lips were slowly moving towards mine. I closed my eyes and prepared for the fireworks that were bound to happen. When our lips lightly grazed one another's we were interrupted by a familiar voice yelling for my Adonis, whose given name was apparently _Edward_? It was a very 'old' name, but it still fit him nicely. He had this old soul vibe to him – as if he had lived many lifetimes. Emmett, the buddy I had previously met, yelled for Edward to come help with a larger box that I had surmised to be Rosalie's flat screen television; she wanted that to be the last thing to be moved into the apartment, why?, well I wasn't all that sure myself.

I couldn't hide the giggle that escaped from me when I heard Edward softly curse his roommate for his bad timing. I urged him to go help him and that I would be ok. I could tell that Edward didn't want to go, that he wanted to finish what we had almost started.

"Would you do me the honor of going out for a drink with me after we finish up here? And who knows, maybe you and I can have a repeat of that wonderful night I can't seem to get out of my head." Edward said with a crooked smile I swore he did for my benefit. Though I was attracted to his gorgeous man, for a few seconds I almost felt guilty for lusting after him instead of my husband. But then I reminded myself that I was just meeting him for a drink; that was not cheating. Edward left the room before I could either accept or reject his offer and I was left standing there. It took me a couple minutes to get my breathing under control and make sure my over-observant sister didn't know just how well I knew Rosalie's new neighbor.

Thankfully Rosalie and Alice finished decorating the apartment and the only requirement left of the boys were to hook up her TV, and move in her couch from the hallway. When they left, I had thought that maybe Edward had forgotten all about his proposition to take me out for drinks tonight; I realized that Edward had palmed a small, folded piece of paper to me.

I wasn't sure if I should even look at it and just throw it in the trash, but my curiosity got the best of me.

_Want to meet me for a drink?_

_Bridge Bar at 8._

_ E._

Could I meet Edward for drinks? I mean it was just a drink or two at a bar; it wasn't like he was asking me to come over for sex.

_Was he?_

God how I hated how this man could make me question myself so much; Garrett was never like this with me. He was the perfect gentleman, I mean yes we met and married rather quickly, but I knew that I loved him from the very beginning. Now though, now I wasn't so sure anymore.

After a couple more hours of moving and rearranging the furniture in the apartment Rosalie was satisfied with how her new home looked and suggested we go out for an early dinner. I checked the time on my phone and saw that I still had three hours before I would need to decide if I would go and meet Edward for drinks. When we got to a restaurant – I didn't even bother looking at which one – Alice knew something was off with me and quietly asked me what was wrong. When she finally was able to get it out of me she smiled ear to ear.

"This is wonderful news Bella! I mean you met this guy once and you're still hung up on him? Normally I would smack some sense into you, but I won't because we're in a public place right now with countless witnesses – plus you know that I look hideous in orange." Before I could answer our waiter came and asked for our drink order and if we were ready to order or needed a few more minutes to decide. Both Alex and Charlotte knew immediately what they wanted; which meant that me, Alice, and Rosalie had to scramble to pick something that sounded halfway decent to us on the menu.

We all made small talk and when our drinks came I casually asked Rosalie if it would be alright if Charlotte and Alex spent the night with her in her new apartment. I swear my children have supersonic hearing at times, because they immediately started begging me to let them spend the night with Rosalie. I glanced at her for approval and thankfully she agreed. Just then I realized that I didn't have any change of clothes for them to change into. Rosalie shrugged it off and said it would give her an excuse to take her niece and nephew shopping with her. I didn't really like the idea of Rosalie buying my children clothes, but I decided that just this one time was ok.

When dinner was finished we walked back to Rosalie's apartment building and I kissed my children goodnight and that I would see them tomorrow bright and early for church. Neither Charlotte nor Alex was happy about this, but they didn't argue with me. Alice and I walked back to our cars and before I got in and drove off Alice asked me the question I had been hoping she didn't, "So, do you plan on meeting up with this Adonis of yours?" I was stunned. How did she even know that I had finally decided to go get that drink with Edward? "Don't look at me like that, I know you Bells, and I know that though you're married to Garrett and don't want to ruin your marriage, you deserve to be happy. So what if it isn't Garrett that makes you happy. I won't tell and neither will Rosalie."

Oh my god, did everyone I know think it was perfectly fine to cheat on your spouse? I mean, yes, I did have sex with Edward, but that was after a lot of tequila shots and one very strong Long Island Iced Tea. But that didn't count as cheating…did it?

God, this Adonis was screwing with what I knew, and what I thought I knew, was right.

_7:52pm_

I was going to be late, let's just hope that Edward didn't think I was standing him up. Just as I had my key in the ignition Alice tapped on my window and pointed across the street. There on a black banner in white letters was the sign for the Bridge bar. I took a few collecting breaths and got out of the car and after I 'promised' to call Alice later with all the 'juicy details' I was off.

Finally I was able to find a parking spot and I hurriedly walked to the bar and when I got inside I looked around and as his note told me he was here and waiting for me by the bar. I quietly told the hostess that I was meeting someone by the bar and she gladly let me pass and I continued on my journey. I couldn't help but chew on my bottom lip as I inched closer and closer. It was one thing when I walked up to him as a complete stranger, but now, now, I knew his name and that would definitely complicate things for me.

"If you continue chewing your lip like that I may just have to see how it tastes for myself." I was jerked out of my thoughts by his comment and felt myself blush three shades of pink. Now that he said that I found myself wanting him to do just that – and plenty of other things if I could think of any. Seeing me blush Edward smirked again and I asked me what I would like to drink. I told him that I would be driving home so for now just a glass of ice water would be enough for me. "Pity, and here I thought you couldn't wait to jump me back at your friend Rosalie's apartment." His grinned widened as I'm sure he saw my eyes bug out of my head. "H-how did you – I mean what makes you so sure that that's what I had in mind?" I did my best to sound coy, but I couldn't hide the waver in my voice.

"Oh, I'm a man of many talents Isabella and you're welcome to try and figure them out any time you like." Thankfully he turned his head to get the bartender's attention and didn't see my cheeks redden further. I started fanning myself while his back was turned and willed myself to calm down and not get ahead of myself.

_Do not let this man fluster you Bella._

"I asked for an ice water." I said matter-of-factly when the bartender placed my drink order in front of me. I wasn't a fan of alcoholic drinks. The most alcoholic drink I've ever had was a strawberry daiquiri, and that was at this past Fourth of July celebration. "And I want to expand your palette. So have an open mind and take a sip. Think of this date as a tasting and finding out which liquors you prefer."

Now, how could I tell this auburn-haired Adonis no? I let out a breath and brought the small glass to my mouth and took a quick sniff, and I couldn't tell for sure but it smelled almost like something roasted or charred, which one I wasn't very sure. I wanted to demand that he get me an ice water and no more games, but I decided to break my cardinal rule and took a sip of the caramel-colored drink. Something told me that I should've taken a smaller sip because it dried out the back of my throat and I coughed and gagged a bit before finally getting air back into my lungs.

And what did Adonis do? He laughed. He was fucking laughing at me. I gave him my best death glare and this only caused him to laugh harder. "You do know that you're supposed to sip the whiskey not gulp it down like it's going out of stock."

Again with that damned crooked grin of his. I wanted to yell at him and punch him hard in the shoulder, but I didn't. I just calmly told him again that I wasn't much a fan of alcohol, and asked the bartender for a glass of water. Thankfully the bartender nodded and brought it over, and also put down a small glass of drink that looked to be the color of honey. "That is your next glass to try, I won't tell you what it is until after you take a drink; I don't want to cloud your judgment." I could tell that he was being sincere and after taking a few sips of my water I found the courage to take a small sip of the drink. It wasn't bad, but it made me feel like I had took a bite out of a corkboard, but decided to push through; by the third sip it was actually somewhat good. I wouldn't be buying any of this stuff anytime soon, but I will agree that I liked it. "Well by your face, I can tell that you enjoyed it and that is your classic scotch on the rocks." Edward said with a genuine smile. He ordered another drink for me to try, and if I didn't know better I'd say that he was trying to get me drunk.

"Oh, and here I thought I was being discrete – looks like you found me out Isabella." Crap. I thought I had said that in my head, but apparently it came out of my mouth.

"It's Bella, and enough of the liquor, I showed up didn't I there's no reason for you to get me all liquored up." I say and I even surprise myself when I add a playful wink for good measure. Ok, so it was safe to say that I was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, though I will admit that I was feeling more aware than that night after all those tequila shots. I took another sip of my water and decided to ask the bartender to give me the strongest drink they made. I wasn't quite sure myself why I wanted to try hard liquor, but I wasn't about to question it – neither was Edward apparently.

The bartender put a drink down in front of me and I asked what the name of it was I couldn't hide the smile on my face.

_Smoking Gun._

It was a very catchy name. I swirled the glass a bit then without smelling first I took a generous sip of the drink and was happily surprised that it didn't burn going down my throat. In fact, it didn't even taste alcoholic at all it tasted really good actually. Before I knew it, it was gone and I asked the bartender for refill. I vaguely remember hearing Edward telling that I better take it easy since I don't make a habit out of drinking. I shrugged him off and gladly welcomed my second glass of the amazing drink. Just as I was about to ask for another I was starting to feel the warming effects of all the alcohol. Edward pushed my glass of water over to me and told me that I needed to drink about three more glasses of this so that I wouldn't have a killer hangover. But I think I was already affected by the alcohol because I think I told Edward how I couldn't stop thinking about him since that night and that I _did_ want to jump him when we were in Rosalie's bedroom.

I was a bit confused when I saw Edward looking around the bar a bit embarrassed, but it didn't matter to me. I sipped my water some more and before I knew it Edward put down money to cover the tab and took me by the hand and we walked back to my car – at least that's what I thought we were doing. We had just passed the bar when Edward pulled me into the shadows of an alley and pushed me up against the wall. My head was still swimming a bit from the alcohol, but I couldn't hide the fact that this was turning me on. He inched closer to the point that our lips were lightly grazing against one another's that I was practically begging for more.

"I know that I shouldn't be doing this, you're clearly drunk, but I can't help myself. Isabella – Bella, I need one more night with you. Hell, I need more than one night. You do things to me I didn't think were ever humanly possible." All I could do was just stare up at him and I could feel my breathing becoming more and more shallow. I'm not sure what came over me, but I couldn't help myself; I grabbed Edward by the side of his head and pulled him in and kissed him with so much passion and fire I thought I would combust into a pile of ash right here in this alley. I nearly burst into tears when Edward pulled away from me. Had I done something wrong?

Just then Edward's lips came crashing down on mine. I would've squealed with delight, but I was too busy making out with the most wonderful man I've ever met. When his mouth started to trail towards the crook of my neck I was finally able to catch my breath. I found myself gasping as I felt his hands trail down from either side of my face to rest on my breasts. I couldn't hold back the moans of ecstasy as his hands roughly massaged my breasts through my shirt. Right now I was regretting wearing a bra because I wanted to so desperately feel his fingers rake across my nipples and ever so lightly tweak them.

"Tell me how much you want it." Edward whispered hoarsely in my ear then gently bit my ear lobe.

I gasped and found my body starting to shake from all of this pleasure. As if reading my mind one of Edward's hands left its place caressing my breasts and slowly moved south towards the hem of my jeans. I knew I should've listened to Victoria and wore a skirt today – and not just because it was rather hot for an evening in September. I was still finding the words that would explain how much I wanted him – so much time that I hadn't realized he had my jeans unbuttoned and was snaking his hard callused hands down into my pants and he started rubbing and massaging my pussy though my underwear.

"I want to hear your voice begging for it." Edward said with a hoarseness that told me he wanted this just as much as I was right now. I finally had control over my thoughts and extremities and reached out towards Edward and raked my fingers over his sculpted chest. I looked up at him and I saw that he was staring very intently at me; like he was watching to make sure that I was enjoying myself.

"I…I want you…I want you right now." I couldn't believe I was saying this right now, but it was completely true I wanted him right now. I wanted him so bad that I was willing to let him take me right here in this dark alley up against the brick wall that was currently holding me up. I swear this man could read minds because then he abruptly turned me around so that my face was shoved against the brick wall. I felt my jeans being lowered down my hips and then a callused hand found its way inside my panties and on my bare skin. I was about to ask Edward to stop teasing me when I felt fingers plunge deep inside of me and I couldn't hold back the loud moan that escaped my lips as Edward began to push his fingers in and out of my pussy.

The hand that had been previously massaging and kneading my breasts moved up and took hold of my neck. I've never felt pleasure like this before; I loved what was happening to me and I found myself begging Edward not to stop.

"Yeah, you like what I'm doing to you don't you?" Edward said in a hoarse whisper. I couldn't answer him; all I could focus on right now was the building climax that was forming inside of me. I was gasping and panting for air as he continued his assault on my now wet pussy. I was nearing my orgasm at a steady pace when I felt his thumb had found my little nub. I heard him chuckle with devilish delight and proceeded to rub it at an alarming rate.

My gasping and panting became fevered and just when I thought I was going to explode Edward covered my mouth with his as my climax reached its peak. I was moaning and groaning so much I swore I blacked out a few seconds at a time as I came down from my high. I silently thanked the stars he hadn't let me go until I got my bearings because I would've fallen into a big heap on the dirty ground. I pulled up my pants and rearranged my shirt as I stood there still panting a bit. I wanted to tell him how amazing that was but seriously, how do you express you enjoyed what he did to you without sounding stupid or tacky? I mean I'm not about to say _"That was amazing, I loved how your fingers made me feel."_ , because that would be just gross and uncomfortable. Thankfully though Edward didn't need me to say anything; he took me in his arms and gave me the most passion-filled kiss I think I've ever gotten.

After this brief encounter with Edward I felt my head was a bit clearer, maybe not enough by legal standards, but I felt that I was ok enough to drive back home. I needed to go home; I didn't trust myself to stay with Edward any longer than necessary. If I stayed I would more than likely go back with him to his apartment and give him that 'one more night' he wanted with me. I said a quick goodbye to Edward and gingerly walked to my car. My legs would definitely feel like jelly for a few more hours, but I liked the pleasant reminder of just how amazing Edward is.

I was about halfway home when I saw I had a text message. When I got to a stoplight I pulled my phone out and saw that it was a text from Garrett.

_Sorry about fight last weekend.  
Coming home earlier than planned.  
Want to go out for lunch tomorrow?_

_Garrett._

There it was; the reason I had to keep my feelings for Edward in check. My husband. Garrett and I were going through a rough patch. We've been married for about eight years, and I've known Edward a total of three days, so how is it that I want to spend more time with Edward than I am with my own husband?

I had a feeling though that tonight wasn't just going to be one more night with Edward.


	6. Wagon Wheel

**So I want to start off by saying Happy Friday to you all! I also want to say that I am so surprised that I am only six chapters into this story and I've broken the 100 review mark! Thank you all for your reviews and I love reading your thoughts about the characters. I also know that I suck at replying to reviews lately and I am trying to fix it, I plan to reply to chapter 5 reviews later today and then I will be caught up!**

**Also want to send a shout out to my amazing team of ladies! **dolphin20, NemoNewbie, and Susan Robinson!**  
**

**Chapter 6 is titled Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker**

* * *

It'll be Halloween before we know it and I still hadn't heard from Edward since the night I met him for drinks at the Bridge Bar – not to mention that the encounter in the alleyway still has me a bit hot under the collar just thinking about it. The trees around town have already started to lose some of their leaves and those leaves have already started changing colors.

I had even convinced Garrett to let Alex go to preschool and the little guy is enjoying himself. The preschool doubles as a daycare, so I take Alex for preschool at about nine and I pick him up at around five that same day. Charlotte is doing very well in school and currently involved in an indoor soccer league that is having an undefeated season so far. But I should mention that it's only because they're three games into the season.

Since I have the house to myself more now that Alex is at preschool five days a week I decided to finish my English Literature degree online and spend most of my days studying and taking tests. I'm actually really glad that I can finish my degree seeing as how I wasn't able to seeing as how I had Charlotte when I was a freshman in college. Alice told me that I should finish anyway, but it just wouldn't work out seeing that my dad was in Washington, my mom was in Rochester, and Garrett's parents were too busy with the bakery to take time out to babysit during the days I would've had classes.

But the best thing about October seems to be that Garrett has making more of a conscious effort to spend more time with the family. He's been cutting back on his hours and he's not gone on the weekends anymore. Actually it was a bit of a pleasant surprise that I wasn't the only parent there that was cheering Charlotte on. Today was the second Saturday of the month and that meant it was game day. Her team, "The Cheetahs", was currently dominating against the "The Jackals".

"Mommy, can I go racing?" Alex said. I will give him credit; he has been sitting rather quietly for the first two quarters of the game. I gave in when he started to gently pull on my sleeve and point over to the small arcade they had set up. When we got over there I saw the racing game that Alex obviously spotted when we walked in. I looked back over my shoulder and saw that the 'The Cheetahs' were up by two goals, so I probably wouldn't miss Charlotte make her first goal. Alex plopped down in the chair, and the look on his face was priceless; I had to stifle my laughter at the look on my son's face when he saw that he was too short to reach the pedals. Thankfully the game system had an adjustable seat, so my first attempt to make it where Alex could possibly reach the pedals, but then when I did that he was eye level with the top of the steering wheel – could not see over it at all. I was seconds away from giving up and try to convince my stubborn son that he should just play the crane game to get a stuffed animal. Then the most perfect idea popped into my head. "Alex, how about you sit on my lap and I push the gas pedal and you steer the car?"

I would never grow tired of the look of pure joy and excitement in my son's eyes. I readjusted the chair so that I could sit comfortably, and still have room for Alex to sit in my lap. We went through all the choices of cars a few times and when we finally picked the one we wanted, I whispered to Alex that he wanted to pick the option of driving that said "automatic". I even pointed to which one he needed to turn his wheel to. The one time my son decides not to listen to me and he chooses this as one of those few times. He chose the "manual" option, and that meant I would be stuck with the small gearshift.

Now, I had a general idea of how to use a gearshift from when my dad tried to teach me when I was about Charlotte's age how and _when_ to shift into different gears. But when I was sixteen and learning to drive, my dad thought that my crash course when I was eight years old would still be fresh in my mind. Well, by the time my driving lesson ended my dad's old truck – we're talking a 1957 Chevy – needed a new transmission as well as a new clutch plate, but in my defense the truck was so old that it needed a new transmission anyway. So suffice to say that when I turned sixteen and got my license my car was automatic and the only thing I had to worry about was whether or not I left the emergency brake on.

"Yay mommy, look at me go! Vvvoooommmmm…" I smiled as my son excitedly twisted the wheel left and right haphazardly. By the time his car reached the finish line he had managed to come in fifth out of eight cars. This was baffling to me seeing as how Alex had only been turning the wheel left and right with no real sense of direction – at least that's what it looked like to me.

I carried Alex back over to the wooden bleachers after the video game and sat down next to Garrett. He happily filled me in on what all I missed; thankfully I hadn't missed Charlotte make her first goal yet. As if by sheer luck I happened to look up just as Charlotte got the ball kicked to her and she started running down the field with the ball. With the goal a few feet from her, she had kicked it to one of her teammates and when Charlotte got closer to the goal she called for Mallory, her best friend on the team, to give her the ball. The game all came down to this one goal – while I was gone racing in the Mojave desert with Alex the 'The Jackals' had come back and tied the game up to 2–2. Garrett was on his feet by this time too and just when I thought Charlotte's kick was going to go left of the goal, it hit the top of the goalie's fingers and bounced on just the right spot of the goal and back into the net

The 'The Cheetahs' managed to break the tie and win the game!

As both teams walked in straight lines down the center of the arena to high five one another, I went to help the mother who was in charge of getting the team snack ready for the thirsty and hungry kids. This particular game day, it was Angela's turn to get the snacks ready. She was running a bit behind running back and forth trying to put food on the plates while trying to soothe her fussing, and teething, eight-month old baby boy.

"Need a hand Ang?" I knew that it went without saying, but I asked all the same.

"I need a second set of hands, I swear with Mikey teething and Eric running around here somewhere it's so hard to make sure that I don't give one kid more grapes than another." Eric was the same age as Alex, but older by a three months. "But yes, you are more than welcome to help me make sure that every kid gets a juice box and make sure that they don't try and steal a plate of food before I'm finished." I mocked saluted her – her husband, Ben, is in the Marines and currently on deployment. I intercepted the gang of kids that were making their way over to the snack table. I decided it would be best to distract them with music and quickly grabbed my cell phone, and hooked it up to a pair of speakers especially made for phones and mp3 players. I turned on my kid-friendly playlist and they were immediately distracted and dancing around in a circle.

The first song that came on made me chuckle, because I had heard _Wagon Wheel_ by Darius Rucker on the car ride over here. When the chorus came around all the kids, and even some of the parents, started belting it out.

"Hey, momma rock mmmeeeeee!" Alex squealed as he jumped for me to catch him. This was our thing lately; I would pick him up and bounce around and pretend dance with him. I would hold his hand while we swayed with the music and he would sing at the top of his lungs. It was rather humorous because he would occasionally add his own twist to some of the words when Darius would sing the verses.

A few songs played after Wagon Wheel finished up, but just before my playlist got to _Gangnam Style_, Angela announced that snacks were ready and that everyone needed to form a single file line – and of course with a bunch of hungry kids there was a fight to see who could be first. Mallory, Angela's oldest, got in front and everyone else filed in line after her. The line was about half the size it was when I could hear poor little Mikey fussing and squirming in his baby carrier. I asked Angela if it was ok that I hold and rock with Mikey to try to soothe him a bit. Angela gladly agreed and went on serving the hungry kids. With a bright smile I tickled Mikey's belly and tried to take his mind off of the pain he was feeling in his gums – this seemed to really do the trick.

"I forgot how babies seem to love you Bells, I still remember Alex would giggle and coo when you would come in the room. I love the children we have – our perfect little family." Garrett said with a thoughtful smile. It was the first nice, genuine thing he's said to me in a while. I may be putting too much thought into what Garrett said, but it sounded like he was telling me – without actually saying it at all – the two children we had were plenty for him. I could have been over-analyzing his statement, so I didn't think too much about it. I picked Mikey up and kissed his chubby cheeks which earned me a toothless smile – almost. It seemed that the reason Mikey had been extra cranky lately was that he was in the process of getting his second and third tooth at the same time; that would make anyone cranky.

It was if the gods were looking down on me and wanted me to break out in song because _King of the Road_ by Roger Miller came on and I decided to break out my good 'old fashioned swaying with Mikey, who by this time had managed to get his mind off his painful teeth coming in. When the song finished all the kids stared at me and laughed, a few of the parents were smiling as well; I apparently had started singing along with the music. Garrett came over to give me a reassuring kiss on the cheek. He told me that it was his favorite too.

_-*-MTAONS-*-_

Later on that day Garrett and I were subjected to parental hell – otherwise known as going shopping for Halloween costumes. It was considered hell for us because we had two children who were still feeling the effects of the copious amounts of sugar still coursing through their systems. Now normally I would take the time and either I would sew the kids' costumes myself, or I would let Alice have the honor of repeatedly sticking her fingers with sewing needles sewing wings to a fairy costume, but this year I made the decision that we would just buy costumes that were already made.

_Why didn't anyone ever tell me how stressful it was taking two kids, who were all hopped up on sugar from all the candy they had after Charlotte's soccer game, costume shopping?_

As we looked through all of the costumes, not finding costumes that either of my children even remotely liked, I was starting to reconsider making the kids' costumes myself again this year and save me the headache.

"No! I don't want to be a fairy this year I was a fairy last year! I wanna go as a vampire, and not like the ones in mommy's books, I don't wanna sparkle!" I sighed. Garrett agreed to take Charlotte to look for a vampire costume in her size. I was still trying to get Alex to decide what it was that he wanted to go as for Halloween. I would normally just pick out a pattern and that would be what he went as, but Alex told me that he was a big boy and that he wanted to pick out is own costume this year. Have you ever tried to get a four year old to focus long enough to pick out a costume? It's like leading a horse to water. I silently sang praises of halleluiah when Alex finally picked out a costume. But when I got a better look at the costume my son had pointed to I was a bit confused.

"Are you sure you want this costume buddy?"

"Yeah, I wanna be a fairy!" My son had picked out a Tinkerbell costume. Now, I am all for a child being themselves and I would not be the type of parent to tell my children what Halloween costume they can or cannot wear; I would make this work. I agreed that Alex could go as a fairy and when Alex went to go tell Garrett the good news I quickly picked up a Peter Pan costume. I would try my best to combine the two costumes so that my son still thought he went as a fairy, but he also looked like peter pan – but with wings.

We were able to get out of the costume shop in one piece. Garrett and I decided to take the kids out for ice cream. Charlotte and Alex both asked for Superman ice cream, I went with a classic – cookie dough ice cream, and Garrett got a twist ice cream cone.

"So, I was thinking, you know how we haven't really dressed up for Halloween in a few years," Garrett asked between mouthfuls of ice-cream. I gave him a knowing glare. _We_ haven't been dressing up for Halloween; _he_ was the one who hadn't dressed up for Halloween. ", ok, _I_ was the one who hasn't dressed up the past couple of years. I was thinking about it, and we could go with a theme for costumes. I'll even let you pick them out. I know how you can get when it comes to costumes." He did have a point, I was normally a very laid back person, but when it came to picking out Halloween costumes I was very particular about what I wanted. I would definitely need to take Rosalie and Alice with me to go costume shopping in the next couple of days.

Charlotte and Alex had finished their ice cream a long time ago, and asked if we were going home yet. I told them we were leaving in a few minutes and that they needed to sit still and wait patiently. Charlotte gladly agreed, but I could tell that Alex didn't really want to stay seated; he wanted to bounce around and try to get Charlotte to chase him around the bench we were sitting at. When we finished our ice cream and threw away the trash at the same time, I decided that now was a good time as any to bring up something that had been clawing at the back of my mind. I asked him about why he was working such long hours in the past, and why did he decide to stop all of the sudden. He calmly told me that he was working extra hard so that the bosses higher up would see all of Garrett's hard work and promote him to partner. This meant that he would get a bigger paycheck, and that if the chance came up he could work at any law firm he wanted – maybe even start his own. I had to believe him; I mean besides the two strange phone conversations I overheard I had no definitive proof that Garrett was doing anything else – even if my mind was screaming at me that he was doing much more than just working long hours at the office.

We got home around seven that night, and after the amazing dinner that Laurent had made us – every meal that Laurent makes is wonderful – I was on the phone talking to Alice; asking her if she was going to have her costume party. "Of course I'm still having my party and I was able to convince Jasper that we should have the party on Halloween. Do you think Hank and the _Wicked Witch_ would want to take Lottie and Alex trick-or-treating this year?" I decided to look past the little dig at Celia and told her that I wasn't sure what Hank and Celia's plans were for Halloween. I would have to ask Garrett if he was ok with his parents taking our kids trick-or-treating.

"I'm sure that uptight "B" would love to make sure that my niece and nephew went with her and her pushover-of-a-husband on Halloween."

"Ok Alice, that's enough, I know you don't get along with Celia and I know that she presses your buttons, but enough; let's talk about what Garrett and I should dress up as for your party. He told me that I had full rein of whether or not we dressed up as a couple or separate. I need your expert fashion sense. What should I dress up as for Halloween?" I knew once the words left my mouth that I had unleashed the fashion monster.

Alice loved playing dress up, she'd always guilt me into playing dress-up with her when we were kids; heck, even in high school she would guilt me into dressing up in front of the mirror with her. I swear there wasn't anyone alive who could say 'no' to Alice, and those who did paid the price of having her give them the cold shoulder. Now, it wasn't your typical cold shoulder and she would eventually forgive you. I mean, she could go for months not talking to you – my parents excluded of course. "Well I have a few ideas for you missy, but as for that sorry excuse you call a husband, I'll have my work cut out for me." I decided not to dignify that with a response and listened as Alice listed all the different types of costumes she could see me wearing.

I personally liked the idea of dressing as a hippy, but the others seemed a bit too risqué for me. I wasn't about to dress up as a 'slutty' cheerleader, or a 'naughty' nurse. While I listened to Alice go on and on about how I'd called her for her opinion, I resorted to Google Images and went through the different pictures I found when I typed in _'Halloween costumes for women'_.

"That's it! I found the costume I'll wear, and I think you will even approve it Alice! Don't you even think about trying to pry it out of me. Think of it as my way of paying you back for all the years I had to endure with you making me your personal Barbie doll." I giggled as I heard my sister growl and demand that I tell her what costume I picked out, but I remained firm. Plus, the more I looked at this costume the more I fell in love with it. Without giving too much away, I was able to give Alice a vague description of my costume and happily agreed that she would look for a costume for Garrett that would complement my costume. I happily hung up the phone before I was dragged into Alice's little web of designers and whether or not I should pick out something that was more revealing.

Then a thought crossed my mind.

As I was perusing the images of different costumes on Google, I was thinking about Edward and whether or not he would be at Alice and Rosalie's party. Would he be there and if he were, how would I even know if it's him?

There was one thing that Alice's costume parties were known for – their masquerade masks.

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**Not much to say other than I will see you all next Wednesday and please be sure to review and tell your friends about this story! :)**


	7. Love Shack

**It's Wednesday! This chapter is the Halloween costume party, and without giving too much away we will have a Bella/Edward encounter. But there will also be a twist at the end too.  
**

**I want to thank my amazing team of Ladies; **dolphin20, NemoNewbie, Susan Robinson**. They help me make my story amazing!**

**This chapter is titled, **Love Shack** by the B-52's**

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"I still can't believe that you actually still want to wear this. I mean Bella this costume is so sexy I'm surprised Rosalie isn't wearing it instead of you." Alice said with a bright smile, as she took in my costume from all angles of her bedroom. She had all but demanded that Rosalie and I come over and change into our costumes at her apartment seeing as how the party was at her townhouse anyway.

"Way to be supportive Alice. I like it and I don't know – I just want to do something different for a change, and if that means dressing like a whore then so be it." I was liking this new side of myself I was starting to discover. I was finding myself not being the pushover I had been known to be and speaking up for myself more. Normally I would just let Alice do and say whatever she wanted; it was just easier that way.

My costume was actually really sexy and I loved how it showed off my curves in all the right places. The top made it look like I was wearing a white corset with black trim and laced up with red ribbons, and it made me look even curvier with the black vest. My skirt was black with a striped black and white trim. But the shoes I wished I hadn't let Alice talk me into wearing were already hurting my feet. They were cute black knee-high boots with about 3-inch heels with a good length of red fabric to cover my knees up. It was like a modern-sexy twist on a pirate outfit. To make it look like I had a 'hat' there was a black and red thick ribbon that clipped into my hair. I had actually liked how Alice styled my hair; it was pulled up into a 'messy' pony tail with pieces of hair hanging down strategically.

I was in the process of putting an extra layer of blush and lipstick when I heard my phone vibrate on the vanity. It was from Garrett telling me that he would be going to the party, but that I could go ahead without him – something about how his bosses needed something from him that was due two weeks ago.

_Oh well, I won't let him ruin my good mood._

Charlotte and Alex were with Garrett's parents for the night, another reason I was grateful that Garrett and I moved back to Chicago – the place he called home.

"Ugh, Bella, can you tear your attention from your own reflection and come zip me up? I'm not even sure why this dress needed a zipper it's practically skin-tight." I turned to see my sister struggling to try and zip the dress herself with no success. I couldn't hold back the laughter when I saw what her costume was.

She was in a bright red dress with the Skittles logo on it, and on the back of her dress in italic print around her ass read _"Taste the rainbow"_ – something that was added to the dress. Alice didn't find humor in my laughter and demanded I just come over and zip her up. Rosalie looked stunning as always – she decided to go as an auto mechanic. She was wearing navy blue coveralls that even had the embroidered name tag that read, _"Hi, my name is…"_. She had it zipped down to her navel; thankfully she was wearing a 'greasy' white T-shirt under it and even put black 'grease' on her cheeks to make her look as if she had just crawled out from under a vehicle.

Finally came the finishing touches; our masks.

Mine was a mask that covered my eyes and that came down around my nose, Alice's was white and just covered her eyes, and Rosalie decided instead of wearing a mask she would just add extra black face paint to her face to conceal her identity.

When the party finally started it was surprising there was still any room to move around, let alone breathe. It was still strange that Alice knew so many people, but at the same time I really wasn't that surprised. There were a lot of vampires – some traditional some looked like they stepped right out of that book by Stephanie Meyer – and there were a lot of nurses varying from innocent to some looking like they just got done filming a porno.

Journey's _Don't Stop Believing_ started playing and everyone was singing along and bouncing up and down to the music. It was amazing to watch, that's right I didn't do much dancing and even when I did it wasn't pretty. I swear it looks like I'm having an epileptic seizure or something that's how horrible I am.

The night continued on and I was doing my best to play good host with my sister, but by the time _11:00_ rolled around the party went from laughing and dancing to an all-out make out party it seemed – and if it was possible even more people showed up. I swear it was like a flashback to high school. When Charlie and Renee would be gone for some kind of mini vacation away from work and painting, Alice would immediately invite the entire school over – it was a wonder that none of our neighbors ever called the police. I started looking for Alice and was going to tell her that I had to go and that I was checking out early when I saw her in the corner of the family room making out with her husband, Jasper. I sighed and decided it best not to interrupt them, so I went on my way upstairs to get my things to go home.

"Hello gorgeous, I wouldn't mind walking your plank, if you know what I mean." I man who sounded as if he was way past his limit of how many beers he had tonight, I turned to see him and saw that he had been _real_ original and was dressed as a mummy – more like he had been dressed as one. He did a half-assed job of wrapping himself in toilet paper because I could see the boxer shorts he was wearing and I knew he didn't mind showing off. I continued on my way not bothering to answer him, when I heard him mutter, _"fucking cock tease…"_ I whirled around and whacked him hard in the jaw making him stumble back a few paces against the wall. I said something to the effect of to go fuck himself and continued on my way. Just as I was almost to the bedroom I was pulled by the arm hard into the bathroom then slammed up against the door. I wasn't given a chance to scream at my attacker, who was dressed as a Greek god, before his lips were crashing firmly into mine.

It took me a moment for it to register just who this assailant was – it was my Adonis. I'd recognize his cologne anywhere. I wasn't sure how he'd known it was me under this mask but it didn't matter; nothing mattered at this very moment.

"Seeing you punch that drunken bastard was so hot Bella…" Edward hoarsely whispered against the nape of my neck. I loved how he made me feel, I loved that he made me feel so naughty, but at the same time desired. I couldn't even make myself form competent sentences I just grunted in agreement. I gasped when if felt his hard callused hands run down my body and stop at my hips and practically rip my skirt up so that he could get better access to my panties. Edward wasn't playing around, he was obviously turned on and I wasn't about to stop him by opening my mouth.

He kept eye contact as I felt his hands forcibly pull my panties down so that they pooled around my feet. Instinctively I moved my hand to try and cover myself, but Edward would have none of that – he grabbed my hands and jerked them up and held them above my head.

"I want to be the only thing that makes you cum tonight Bella,"

OK seriously, what the hell was I supposed to say to that? I mean that got me so wet that all I would have to do is just jump on him and he would be inside of me within minutes. He obviously knew what I was thinking because while he made sure my hands stayed above my head with one hand and the other immediately went down to my pussy and he started rubbing his thumb gingerly over my clit, I swear I would cum just from that. After what seemed like an eternity Edward shoved two of his fingers inside of me while still rubbing my clit with his thumb.

By this time I was panting as Edward was building me up for a very intense orgasm. Just when I thought I would finally climax he stopped and pulled his fingers out and grabbed my cheeks and held me still while he gently ran his tongue over my lips before diving in and dancing with my own tongue. My brain was completely scrambled; I wasn't even sure what was happening until I felt something bigger than fingers slowly push into me. I was gasping by this time as I felt myself stretching more than I had in a very long time. With Garrett I would need to use my fingers to rub my clit to help me have an orgasm, but with Edward I think I was about to have one and he had just started sliding in and out of me. Out of habit I was about to rub gently on my clit to help intensify the orgasm, but Edward slapped my hand away. He was serious about him being the only thing that would make me cum tonight. This was both very hot and very frustrating.

Edward hugged closer to my body and the feeling was so amazing that all I could do was just moan as he was thrusting in and out of me.

"Tell me how much you love having me inside of you right now Bella. I want to hear how much you love it." Edward whispered in my ear as he increased his rhythm. I managed to sputter out something that sounded like, _"I love how you fuck my tight pussy!"_

I all but cried when Edward pulled out of me, but was immediately eager for what he had planned when he pulled me over to the bathroom sink bent me over it. I waited impatiently for him to push back into me, but first he seemed to want to tease my pussy and rubbed my pussy, moved his hand from my pussy to teasing around my asshole, then back to my pussy and clit. Then without warning he slammed hard into me that I couldn't hold back the grunt that came from my mouth. This went on for what felt like hours, I loved how amazing he felt inside of me and braced my arms on the sink so that I wouldn't fall.

My climax was coming and I managed to tell Edward this, and this seemed to spur him on and he was pounding into me so hard that our bodies were making that smacking sound. When my climax finally hit I swear the room left me and I was surrounded by bright lights and everything seemed more muffled and blurred. When I finally was back to myself I was gasping for air and felt a warm sticky substance caked on my backside, but I didn't much mind that. I was still riding the high of my climax. I gathered up a bit of toilet paper and run it under warm water, but Edward had beaten me to it. I loved how he took great care to make sure that he didn't hurt me as he wiped the evidence from my body. We were left in silence, but it was pleasant – we were reveling in the aftermath. Soon though we would have to get back to the party and we would have to go our separate ways again.

Just then I felt a vibration in my bra and saw that it was my phone and that it was a text from Garrett.

Been here 4 while.  
Where U ?  
Alice sure knos hw 2 thro a party

- Garrett

That snapped me out of my stupor and I quickly got my skirt readjusted and left the bathroom in search of Garrett, leaving Edward back in the bathroom. I wasn't sure why I needed, or wanted, to get to Garrett in the first place. But then I remembered why; I didn't want him finding out that I had just had sex with the most amazing man on the planet I was sure that he couldn't truly be human.

"Hey babe, wow what a killer costume, makes mine look lame compared to yours." Garrett said when I finally got to him. He was dressed as cupid. I was almost certain that Alice chose this costume for him for the irony alone.

"_Love Shack"_ had just come on and I knew that Garrett loved this song so I pulled him onto the dance floor. Both of us looked like deranged monkeys but I couldn't help but laugh and keep dancing. Just as it got to the second chorus I saw Edward. He was standing on the stairs and his attention was directed right at me. I knew what he was thinking, and I would be thinking the same thing if I had just got done having sex with me and then coming to see me dancing with someone else.

_Cock tease._

I pleaded with my eyes for Edward to forgive me, but he wasn't having any of it. He turned around and walked out of the room. I felt a part of me slowly start to ache at the thought that I had upset him.

But how could I feel this way when I was currently dancing with the man I promised the rest of my life to in front of my friends and family? It was strange to me, but I still couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal. I should be happy that my husband finally wanted to pay attention to me, but I wasn't – I wanted to run after Edward and explain everything to him. As time went on I realized that it would be for the best. Garrett and I were starting to get back to our old selves and maybe now he would keep up his side of the agreement to work less hours and not so many weekends so that he could spend time with Charlotte and Alex.

But something told me that this was too good to be true and that sooner or later things would crumble and I would be left alone.

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**What are your thoughts? Does Edward have a right to be angry? Should Bella feel guilty for how she left things?**

**Be sure to review, and I will see you all this Friday!**


	8. Unfaithful

**Thank you all once again for those who took the time to review the last chapter, and also a thank you to those who added this story to their favorites and alerts! :)**

**Speaking of Follows and Favorites, I am at 137 Favorites, and 308 Follows! That still amazes me because we aren't even halfway through the story yet! :)**

**This chapter is about the man we have grown (and love) to hate; yes that's right, Garrett. This is a way for all of you to get a glimpse into his mind and what has led him to where he is now. You might hate him more after this chapter, or you may sympathize with him some. (This chapter is a recap chapter from Garrett's POV: sorry for any confusion!)**

**Want to thank my team of lovely ladies, **dolphin 20, NemoNewbie, and Susan Robinson**!**

**This chapter is titled after the Rhianna song** Unfaithful**.**

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I hated lying to Bella, I loved her, but I wasn't _in _love with her, not anymore. I'm not sure when it exactly happened, but I found myself starting to have feelings for my secretary, Katrina. It started around the time human resources hired her, which was about five years ago. I still remember when I first saw her and found myself insanely attracted to her. In those first couple days while the both of us were trying to figure one another out, and as time passed, I found myself purposefully making up reasons for her to come in to my office so I could have a reason to see her.

But as time went on Katrina must have felt the same attraction I had for her, because once, around the time she first started working for me as a secretary – one thing led to another and she ended up face first against my desk and my dick pounding hard in and out of her.

That first time it happened both of us vowed that it would never happen again, especially Katrina, because she knew that I had a wife and two children at home. She didn't want to be one of those women who broke up a marriage; I respected her even more after that. I also learned about her background. She was from Slovakia and hadn't visited her parents in quite some time, but she talks to them both on Skype as well as through phone calls and letters. Katrina, who preferred I call her Kate, told me about her childhood growing up in Slovakia and that she had come here with the blessing of her parents to make a better life for herself.

It's amazing all the things she's managed to overcome since her journey to the States. She's had to learn English, had a visa for the past couple of years before getting her secretarial job, and she is in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen. Kate and I have grown so close to one another it's so hard when I have to go home and leave her to go on about her life. I also hate lying to Bella, because she will always be my best friend, and I hate that I'm making her unhappy with all my working lately – something that I've been trying to fix. I decided to break my plans with Kate tonight on Halloween and go surprise Bella at her sister's party. I hated the costume Alice had picked out for me, but decided to keep my opinions to myself. The whole 'cupid' costume was stupid, but decided to save face and pretend like it didn't bother me. I knew that Alice and Rosalie didn't like me from the beginning, but I was thrilled when Bella decided to give me a chance – not that we really had a choice after she had gotten pregnant with Charlotte shortly after we met and I was about to go off to law school that fall.

I still couldn't get the image of my beautiful wife coming down the stairs at the Halloween party in that amazing pirate costume. I still found her amazingly beautiful in anything she wore, but I found my thoughts being consumed with thoughts about Kate and what she and I had originally planned to do tonight.

Earlier today I was working, nothing unusual there, but I needed to have Kate go up to talk to Marcus, Aro, Caius, and the other lawyers who were in charge of making sure that Katz Law Office ran smoothly and made a profit. I also needed to see if they wanted me to still represent our latest high-profile client – a rich socialite who obviously had too many drinks and blew a 0.14 in a Breathalyzer test. I knew that I could make a deal with the prosecutor to have it arranged to where she could instead serve time doing community service. But when Kate got back down to my office the expression on her face said it all; I needed to make the phone call I didn't want to make – it didn't matter if her father was paying very good money to have us represent her apparently. I wasn't all that sure why Aro had decided to drop her as a client, but I was smart enough not to ask questions I probably didn't want the answers to. I really hated to do that to her, or to anyone, I hated having to have Kate make phone calls telling people I could no longer or would no longer represent them.

Over the years when Kate has to make phone calls like that, people normally don't take it very well; some of the time people would be angry enough they would start shouting profanities at Kate, and some were loud enough I could hear a few of the callers angry words when I came out of my office to her desk. I was looking over the notes from a previous drug case I had previously represented.

I had represented a man, who has been charged with drug possession with intent to sell. I wouldn't normally represent these types of cases, but the bosses upstairs greatly appreciated the generous amount of money he was willing to shell out so that we represent him – apparently we are _the_ law firm for criminals to use. If my memory served me correctly before the Volturi brothers took over firm we would never even consider representing criminals and career felons. I still remember my dreams back in law school to one day come home and become an assistant district attorney, or at least work in the prosecution office and work my way up to District Attorney. But when I had gotten an offer from Katz it was just too good to refuse, they offered a very generous signing bonus if I were to agree to come work for them. I would be stupid to pass that up with Bella and me expecting our first child in a few months and still needed to buy some of the essential furniture for Charlotte.

"Garrett, do you need break?" I loved hearing Kate's accent and how she was picking up English better in over a year. I told her that I was fine and I asked her how Belinda Swanson took the news about us having to drop her as a client. "She was not happy. She tells me that her father would call my boss and give them ear full." I wasn't surprised in the least, but I also knew Aro, the CEO of the law firm and when he made a decision there was no going back from it.

"I will be fine Kate, how is Arron doing? Does he like his new school?" Arron was Kate's five year old son. There have been a few times that I've actually got to meet Arron; Kate prefers to not to have him with her in the office – because he has afternoon kindergarten. She leaves Arron with her elderly neighbor in her apartment building in the morning and the woman takes Arron to school. When I asked Kate about Arron's father she told me Arron's father preferred not to be involved with her or the child. It killed me that Arron would never get to meet his birth father. "He is liking his school very well. He made a few friends. I still do not have clue how I can repay you for paying for Arron's tuition." At my insistence Kate went to have Arron tested – he seemed to not want to get involved with the other kids or the teacher at his previous school. The tests showed that Arron was extremely gifted for his age and that he just needed to be challenged more. Kate didn't make much on a secretary's salary to afford the type of school the experts recommended and so I decided to offer to pay for the tuition; no questions asked. "There's no need for that Kate – I told you that I care for Arron as if he were my own son and he deserves to get a good education."

Seeing as how now calendar was clear for the afternoon, and Kate didn't need to leave to pick Arron up from daycare for another five hours I decided to share my lunch hour with her and offered to have Kate eat with me in my office. I made sure to lock the door behind me, just in case one thing led to another – which it usually did with us. I loved how Kate made me feel and made me feel so young and alive. Bella did the same for me, but it wasn't the same thing with us, it hadn't been the same for a while now and I knew that Bella felt it too.

We had about finished our lunch when Kate slowly got up from her chair and walked around my desk and towered over me. She took my tie in her hand and began pulling it off of me and unbuttoning my dress shirt. When she got to my pants I thought I would burst at the seams at how long she was taking – she liked to tease me when it came to getting undressed – but I wasn't having any of that today. I grabbed her by her waist and pulled down into my lap. I needed to taste her lips. I carefully licked both her lower and upper lip before sensually taking a nip at her lower lip. This seemed to always get her going. She raked her fingers through my shaggy brown hair and I nestled my face into her chest. I went crazy over the perfume she had chosen to wear today; she knew that I had a thing for floral perfume. As our kissing intensified I slid my hand down her arms, to her breasts long enough to massage and tweak her nipples that were peeking out through her bra and white blouse a bit, then my hands came to rest on her perfectly round ass that was currently covered in an indigo pencil skirt. I loved how she made me feel and love what she did to me. I ripped her shirt off, causing buttons to pop off and fly across the room. This seemed to turn her on because I heard her let out a hoarse moan. I smirked and nestled my face back into her chest and lightly bite on her breasts and massage her ass cheeks at the same time.

I heard her start to mutter in her native tongue, and this just spurred me on; I reached around and unhooked her bra and her D-sized breasts came spilling out and I had to suckle on her luscious pink nipples. I found out a long time ago that her nipples were her kryptonite and that the more I massaged and played with them the louder she would moan and closer to her climax she would be.

Not breaking the kiss, I had Kate sit facing me on the desk and she had pushed her skirt up so that I could have a better view between her legs. I about came in my pants when I saw that she had already taken off her panties before coming into the office for lunch. "You naughty, naughty girl…"I whispered in her ear. I nibbled her ear as I let my hand graze against the bare skin between her legs. I was nipping and sucking her neck, and decided to surprise her by slipping two fingers inside of her – this definitely caught her attention. Her moans continued and that hurried my rhythm. I rubbed her swollen nub a bit before finally sliding into her. I reveled in how amazing she felt right now, and I went at it as if there were no tomorrow. Kate's moans grew louder and louder that I had to latch my mouth to hers to keep her quiet – the last thing we wanted was to draw attention to ourselves. After a few minutes Kate collapsed into an exhausted heap against me and I wrapped her in an embrace and sat with her in my desk chair.

We sat there for a few minutes to catch our breath before we went for round two. I loved how I felt inside of her, and I knew that she felt the same way about me – her moans spoke volumes.

_3:00pm_

Time had gotten away from me. I untangled myself from Kate and redressed myself; I needed to pick Alex up early from daycare today since he had a check-up at the doctor. Bella couldn't take him because she was taking Charlotte to the eye doctor to see if she for sure needed glasses. I quietly cursed as I finished making myself seem presentable – you would be surprised how observant a four year old can be. I made sure that I had no lipstick on my collar or my face then when Kate was dressed I told her that I would be gone for the rest of the day and to hold all of my calls. Kate agreed, and didn't question my leaving. That's another reason I loved her so much, she understood that I had a family, two kids that needed me. What Kate and I have is earth-shattering, but she doesn't want it go further than the office, she doesn't want to be known as 'the woman who wrecked a marriage'.

What I didn't bother telling her was that my marriage with Bella was slowly falling apart, granted I wasn't doing much to fix it, but I think both Bella and I knew that our marriage was failing, neither one of us wanted to bring it up.

I decided for now I would push it from my mind and focus on Alex, Charlotte, and Bella. Kate would understand – she was amazing that way.

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**So what do you think? Do you still hate Garrett as much? Do you hate him even more now? How do you feel about Kate and her son? Let me know in your reviews and I will see you all next Wednesday with chapter 9! :)**


	9. Forgive and Forget

**Happy Wednesday!**

**Last chapter I had a few reviews telling me that they understood Garrett's side of things and the majority still think of the man as a jackass! LOL.**

**Now this is the chapter that we meet Edward again and we find out what he does for a living AND Edward confronts Bella about the whole Halloween fiasco. **

**This chapter is titled after the song **Forgive and Forget** by **You Me at Six**.**

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"Mommy, do I have to wear these glasses? I look like a dork." When Charlotte's teacher called and told me that they had had an eye test in school today and that my daughter would need glasses I wasn't really that surprised. I didn't have the best vision, and Alice wore contacts, so when the teacher said that I would need to take Charlotte to the optometrist I made the appointment that same day.

Of course Charlotte would be upset to be missing school, but that was only because today was the day they would start working on their science projects – growing a plant in a Styrofoam cup. I tried to explain that she would be able to start her science project tomorrow, but I was then told that it wouldn't matter and that everyone else's plants would get a head start in growing. I decided to drop the subject and instead tried to engage her in conversation about how trick-or-treating with grandma and grandpa Jacobsen went. Charlotte hit pay dirt at the bakery and the surrounding businesses, and Alex got a good amount of candy as well. He was the cutest Tinkerbell/Peter Pan, and thankfully Celia took plenty of pictures for me to see and I couldn't get over how adorable my little man was. I was worried that some of the other kids would make fun of him for dressing up as 'girl', but no such thing happened. Hank told me that Charlotte scared a few kids by popping out of the shadows and doing her best Dracula impression.

"Charlotte Jacobsen?" The receptionist called. I stood, and when I promised I would be in the room with her, Charlotte stood as well and led the way. The receptionist, who went by the name Diane, did a few preliminary tests; she checked for glaucoma with the machine that spat out a puff of air in her eyes, then the last test she was asked to read the smallest line she could.

After everything was said and done, we found out that Charlotte has a little astigmatism in both eyes. She would of course need glasses, and when she was older we could possibly get her contacts if she wanted them. Charlotte picked out a pair of hot pink glasses; I asked if she was sure that she wanted this pair because she would have to live with this choice for at least a year. She was adamant that she wanted the hot pink glasses and I reluctantly agreed to let her get them. I knew though that she would whine and complain about the color a few days later and stealthily picked out another pair that she would wear eventually.

I took Charlotte for a snack and I could have sworn I saw Edward in his car drive by, it could've been just my imagination, but more likely it was just wishful thinking. It's been about two weeks since Halloween and I haven't seen or heard from Edward in all that time. I wasn't surprised, I mean I had just had the most amazing sex in the bathroom with him then I get a text from Garrett and rush down to go see him and Edward storms off when he sees me with him. Though I wasn't in a relationship with Edward I still felt horrible that he had to find out the way he did.

Charlotte was wearing her hot pink glasses and was showing them off to anyone she could find, when I heard my phone ringing in my purse. I didn't need to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

"Hello Alice, what can I do for you today?"

"_Now, why do you assume that I call you only because I want you to do something for me – never mind don't answer that – So I have a surprise for you; you know how you've always complained that you're fat and need to work out more?"_

"Wow, way to boost my self-esteem Alice, but yes I do remember telling you about how I wanted to be in better shape… Why? What did you do? Please tell me this isn't the elliptical all over again." I swear, Alice has ESP or something, but it's not always accurate it seems, she told me that she had a 'vision' that I would love having an elliptical, and that it would be so easy to use.

Ok, let's just say that only _I_ would injure myself using that damned thing. I apparently didn't have the pin, that kept the handle bars in place, all the way in because when I went to sit down on it the handle bars gave way and I had a humongous bruise on my forehead and I sprained my wrist.

"_It's not like the elliptical fiasco Bells, and I hate that you keep using that against me. I was wrong once and you hold it over my head for the rest of my life – OK, I'm getting off subject. I saw this advertisement in the Classified section of the newspaper about a personal trainer that's offering a free first session this month. I know what you're going to say, but I think it would be good for you to get into shape and maybe it will help you not be so introverted. So – "_

"Oh my god, Alice, you didn't sign me up did you? You know how the last time I was at a gym you had to drag me through the front doors. I mean that was so embarrassing that I couldn't go back to there with you for over a month; I am so self-conscious it's not even funny."

"_Ok, first off you are beautiful dammit, and it's high time you realize it, and that's why I signed you up for a personal trainer; it's just you and the trainer, no one else is around."_

That did sound more my speed. I asked Alice when my first session would be, and she told me that she had scheduled for me to go tomorrow while Alex and Charlotte were in school. It was a Friday, but it would have to do. I wasn't about to argue with my sister. I asked her where I was supposed to go for my workout and she told me that it was at the Optima Chicago Center and that Rosalie was aware of my workout session and would check to see that I actually went.

When I got done talking with Alice I got Charlotte home and she went directly to find Garrett and show off her new pair of glasses. I was met by Alex in the kitchen. He was sitting at the island waiting patiently waiting for whatever it was that Laurent offered to fix him. But I could guess that it was something related to that of pizza rolls.

"I swear, sometimes I wonder if I'm wasting my talents on you child. I remember having to pick grapes on my grandfather's vineyard growing up. Now, that was a lot of hard work, and it made me want to try more extravagant things and widen my horizons." Of course Alex just sat there waiting quietly for his pizza rolls to cook; he didn't even really understand that Laurent was having his usual _tantrums_ when it came to cooking for our family. "If my memory serves me well I seem to remember you telling me that you grew up in New Orleans around Bourbon Street and the Quarter." I said with a knowing smile. Laurent stumbled for a retort, which of course made Alex break out into laughter. I handed him his plate of pizza rolls when the microwave dinged, and then I heard Laurent mutter in French as he sat down to catch his breath. I swear the man could get himself so worked up sometimes. He needed to know that he was nearing sixty; he wasn't the spring chicken he once was. "I will have you know that I did in fact pick grapes on my grandfather's vineyard, granted, it wasn't nearly as backbreaking as I make it out to seem, but my grandfather lived in France and did everything the old fashioned way." I nodded in agreement – knowing that I would not win this argument.

I left Alex to his pizza rolls and strolled in to the living room and the sight I saw warmed my heart, Charlotte and Garrett were sitting on the floor facing one another and Garrett was asking what the eye doctor did to her. Charlotte went step by step what happened and even demonstrated on Garrett to show how the doctor examined her eyes.

The longer I watched the more I had a feeling my little girl would be a doctor one day.

_~*MTAONS*~_

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into doing this. Alice, I swear if I – "

"_If you enjoy it – which you definitely will – then you can thank me by buying me that new dress I've been eyeing in the storefront at Nordstrom's_."

I groaned but agreed anyway, mainly because I couldn't pass up the opportunity bet against Alice, even if things tended to always be in her favor.

When I finally found my nerve I walked in and wandered around until I finally came across the fitness center where I would spend the next hour and a half with a complete stranger telling me what I was doing wrong and show me the _right_ way to eat and work out. I was probably overthinking this and it would be over quick and I would've stressed for nothing.

I had decided to wear a loose-fitting graphic t shirt and yoga pants – I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I have never in my life ever actually gone to a yoga class – and started to do some stretches before the trainer got here and began the session.

"You have got to be kidding me, of all the personal trainers in Chicago; you have to sign up for a free session here?" I could hear the distain in his voice, and I didn't need to turn around to know who it was either. It pained me to do so, but I turned around and was met with a very angry-looking Edward. But who could blame him; last time I saw him I had just finished having awesome sex with the guy then ran off to go meet up with my husband. I would be pissed off too if I were him.

"Edward, let me explain – "

"Save it, I don't need to hear your bullshit; you made your choice painfully clear. Your sister called and arranged for you to have your free session, and after today if you still think you can handle this workout regimen then I'll have Emmett take over your training – because I am not putting up with your bullshit." I was left speechless, I didn't even know how to even start to explain what was going on and that I never meant to hurt him; he wouldn't believe me anyways if I even tried to explain what happened at the Halloween party.

So I did the only thing I could think of – I decided to tell Edward the truth. I told him I was married and had been for over eight years. I also told him that I had been very unhappy for the past couple of months and that he was the first good thing to come my way in a long time. I also told him how that he made me feel wanted and attractive – something I haven't felt for a while now.

Edward was silent for a good few minutes, and just when I thought he would break the silence and embrace me with a warm loving hug, he just nodded his head and started telling me what all we would do in this session today. I couldn't help but feel a bit deflated, but I also couldn't be angry at him for not wanting to welcome me back with open arms.

It's a lot to take in; to find out that the girl you are casually seeing and obviously crazy about – my take on the situation – is married and has two children as well.

The entire workout session Edward did not speak a word to me other than to tell me what I was doing wrong and how I could fix it. By the time the workout had come to an end Edward walked out and was gone without a single glance back in my direction. I couldn't help but feel a bit hurt by his coldness, but I knew I deserved it. I would just have to let him take all of this in and hopefully he would forgive me. I knew one thing for sure though, and that was that my marriage was over, it had been for a while now. I wasn't ready for our attorneys' to draw up the divorce papers, but I wasn't stupid – I knew that I was falling hard for Edward.

But these feelings did raise a few questions – what would this mean for my marriage with Garrett? I am fairly certain that when Garrett first started working at Katz Law Firm he had asked for me to sign a pre-nup. I knew though that it was Celia that had told him to do so, because Garrett was the kind of guy that wanted an equal marriage, and didn't want everything written down in an agreement saying what could and couldn't be done in our marriage. I remember reading it, and I was fairly certain that there was an infidelity clause in there somewhere. It said that if I cheated on Garrett I would only get a set amount of money from him, and if Garrett were to cheat on me I would get all of his money.

So now it came down to whether or not I would go to Garrett and come clean about everything and risk losing all the money I had grown accustomed to, or I could keep quiet and pretend as if nothing happened.

I was snapped from my thoughts when I saw Edward charging back this way through the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked into the long hallway.

"You know that you are very complicated and frustrating person to love Bella? First I meet you in a bar and we have the most amazing sex I have had in a long time, then just when I think it was just a one-time thing I see you again when you help your sister – "

"Step sister…" I corrected.

"Fine, _step-sister_, move into her apartment I see you again and all the feelings I felt for you that night in the bar came flooding back to the surface and all I could think about was how I wanted to fuck you raw right there in your step-sister's bed – nothing else mattered at that moment. Then after that hot and sizzling encounter in the dark alley outside the Bridge Bar I thought I wouldn't see you again. I mean I never heard from you, granted I could've called you as well, but I thought that my feelings one-sided.

_Then _Halloween happened and we once again collided and had earth-shattering sex in a bathroom. I had been gathering the courage all night to find the words to tell you that I wanted more, that I wanted you to be mine and no one else's." I could see the pained look in Edward's eyes and it broke my heart. This man, who was still technically a stranger to me, was pouring his heart out to me right now, he was telling me how much he loves me even though I hurt him. "But then you leave me hanging – quite literally – and when I finally catch up to you I see you in the arms of another man. My first thought was to storm over there and stake my claim on you, but when I saw how you were with him and the look in your eyes I knew that I had been played a fool.

Bella, I don't date women who are in relationships and I sure as hell don't date women who are married – yes I saw both of your guys' rings shimmering in the strobe light beams. I guess what I'm saying is that I am madly in love with you, and I don't want to give up on you – not yet. I'm not ready to give up on _us_."

_Us. He still felt that he and I could still work things out._

I was over the moon excited about this, and though I could feel tears threatening to pour down my cheeks I managed to hold them back and smile. I wanted desperately to leap into Edward's grasp and wrap my arms around his neck, but I found the inner strength to stay rooted to the floor.

I about broke into uncontrollable sobs when Edward slowly closed the distance between us. I couldn't look up at him; I would end up an even more of a sobbing mess. I felt Edward put his fingers under my chin and carefully raised my head so that I was forced to look up at him, but even then I couldn't look at him. I really didn't deserve his forgiveness.

"Open your eyes so I can see your gorgeous brown eyes." Those were the magic words – those were the words I needed to hear, to assure me that Edward still loved me, that he understood that, yes, this was a very complicated situation but that I was also falling hard for him. I slowly opened my eyes and chanced a glance up at his perfect smile. I could see in his eyes that he was still very hurt that I lied to him, but I also saw something that warmed my heart.

_Love._

I saw that he still loved me and that there was hope that Edward and I could work.

* * *

**Let me know what you think and I will see you all this Friday!**

**- Megan**


	10. Aha!

"That's it Bella, now just do five more repetitions and we can call it a day." It was cool how he was really into his job, but he was a bit too dedicated in my opinion. I did my final five repetitions and sighed with relief when I was finished; I was thankful I was using a machine that happened to have a chair with a back to it. This was my fifth workout session and I expected to feel a bit more energetic or at least happy to be doing this, but I couldn't feel that anything was different. Edward said he could tell a big difference in my stamina – the innuendo about my stamina was not lost on me.

During my last session, Edward told me that if I was truly serious about getting into better shape that I would need to eat healthier; something I thought I was already doing, but ok. Edward made the decision to cut my workout short today because he wanted to take me shopping. Now, to any regular person you would think that he meant he was going to show me what all I should and shouldn't eat then I would go through the checkout and go home.

No, this man took me aisle by aisle and showed me the Nutritional Facts on each container of food practically and then about five aisles into the store he started quizzing me on them and I was actually starting to grow a bit tired of his method of teaching.

Not even joking, it took us over two and a half hours to go through the store.

WE DIDN'T EVEN BUY ANYTHING!

We spent all that time just walking around the store and he was telling me the difference between different kinds of fats in foods. Don't even get me started on the fact that I am no longer allowed to have my daily caffeine fix from Starbucks! I did my best to try and negotiate to having my iced mocha coffee at least three times a week, but still Edward didn't budge. If I was serious about working out I needed to be committed fully – I swear it's all or nothing with this man.

I was tempted to make small talk on the short ride back to the apartment, but nothing actually stuck. I casually flipped through different radio stations, but quickly gave up. The next thing out of my mouth was a bit forward – at least for me it was. "So how did you even decide to start a personal training business? I mean did you just wake up one morning and was like, _"I think I'll become a personal trainer."_ Seriously, what made you decide to become a personal trainer? Couldn't hack it in med school?" I should've stopped at the teasing about being a personal trainer; the mere mention of medical school drastically changed Edward's happy demeanor. I could see his eyes darken and his grip tighten on the steering wheel. I immediately apologized and told him that I was only teasing him, and that he didn't have to answer if he didn't want to. It was my lame attempt at an apology and to give him an out.

Edward remained silent and didn't speak the rest of the ride back to the apartment building. It wasn't until I was gathering my things and about to grab the door handle that he finally spoke.

"My father…he's a doctor. He wanted me to go to medical school too, and I planned on going to make him happy. I was about halfway through medical school when I realized that I didn't want to become a doctor. I just wanted to please my father .I dropped out after my second year and decided to do things my own way for once. I went to school and got my degree. I'm now a licensed nutritionist as well as a certified personal trainer..."Wow, and here I thought that Edward was just a personal trainer because he liked working out and staying in shape. My expression must've said something else because Edward started walking away from me and towards the elevators. "Never mind…you wouldn't understand…"

I'm not even all that sure how I understood what Edward was trying to tell me, but I understood why he thought he had to drop out of medical school. His dad really wanted Edward to follow in his footsteps and he chose not to. He was still helping people like a doctor would, but he wasn't working long hours at a germ-riddled hospital. I also didn't need to be a genius to know Edward obviously had a rocky relationship with his parents.

"I get it."

Edward stopped mid-stride and turned around to face me. I could see that those three words helped him realize that he wasn't alone and that I could be a shoulder to lean on if he wanted it.

"You don't have to humor me Bella, you don't know me, and you don't even have all of the facts to even begin to _try_ and understand why I am the way I am." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. He thought that he was damaged and not worth getting to know. It was just a front and I wasn't having any of it. I even made sure to tell him exactly that too.

"What, no _"I'm not good for you Bella, I got too much baggage"_? I mean seriously Edward, we've all got baggage. I'm married to someone that I don't think I've loved for a long time now, and I have two children. But you don't see me throwing myself a pity party and running away." I knew I was being a little harsh on him, but I wanted him to know that I wasn't going to walk away just because Edward wanted me to for my benefit.

"Wow, I really like this one Eddie; she's got a lot of spunk. She'll definitely give you a run for your money." I turned my head to see Emmett start doing some chin-ups. I couldn't hide my smile I was glad that somebody was on my side. I could tell that Edward was less than impressed, but he didn't broach the subject further. I wondered what he was thinking about that could make him do a complete 180˚ on the subject.

Emmett and I made small talk and he was the exact opposite of Edward, he would answer my questions without hesitation and he would be completely honest with me. I could definitely see Emmett and me becoming fast friends. There was one thing though that caught me a bit off guard, and that was that Emmett and Edward were bothers – adoptive brothers that is. From what Emmett said, his mother and Edward's mother had been best friends since childhood, and when he was eight his mother passed away from leukemia. Esme, Edward's mother, gladly accepted Emmett into their home and legally adopted him. Something ate at me though; not once did Emmett ever mention his father. It was possible that he either didn't know his father or maybe he skipped out when Emmett's mother got sick.

"So, are you and Rosalie sisters?" I couldn't hold back my laughter. Emmett obviously was not about to hold anything back and just make small talk – he was blunt and to the point. I told him the abbreviated version of how Rosalie and I are related. This definitely made Emmett happy and he began asking me what all of her likes were and what kind of food she liked to eat. I was fairly certain that he was pumping me for information so that he could ask her out. It didn't bother me though; Rosalie needed to get back out there. Ever since Royce broke off their engagement so that he could be with Dennis – yes Royce, her boyfriend of almost four years at the time, came out of the closet. It wouldn't have been such a big deal; if he hadn't decided to come out at the rehearsal dinner. So yeah, Rosalie's not been too eager to get back out into the dating world. It's been two years since the whole thing with Royce, but she's made sure to always stay single and not get into any type of relationship.

Emmett would definitely have his work cut out with Rosalie; she was a handful and could be a real diva when she wanted to be.

"Well, I am definitely not that big of a douchebag – shut up Edward!" Emmett said with a pointed finger at Edward who had taken a seat nearby doing some warm down stretches. "but I mean that I've got one thing going for me and that's that I'm not in the closet – I mean I don't have to be in the closet…ok well, you get what I'm trying to say." I did, but I decided to give him a hard time about his misuse of words. When Emmett was plenty flustered I quickly reassured him that I knew that he was as straight as they come. "I'm definitely going to like you being around now. You gonna try and loosen up Mr. Hard-ass over there?" He said jerking his chin over at his brother. I shrugged my shoulders and told him I could only do so much. Emmett agreed and said that he saw something in me that Edward needed in his life. What that was exactly he wouldn't tell me – even after I threatened to tell Rosalie that he was planning to ask her out. I gave in and decided to let it be a mystery.

I checked the time on my phone and I still had time before I had to pick Alex up from daycare and decided to stop by and see how Garrett was at work. I called ahead and let his secretary know I was going to stop by, and her breathing sounded a bit labored. I hoped she wasn't catching something that could be contagious. I think I remember Garrett telling me her name was Katerina, or Katrina, something to that effect. According to Garrett she had a five year old son and the father was nonexistent, so her paycheck went all in to make sure that she could provide for her child.

The lobby was less packed than I remembered – it's been a few years since I've actually stepped foot in the main lobby. Whoever owns the building did a very nice job in renovating it; it had a modern vibe to it, the walls were white with black accents along the top and bottom of the walls. The paintings they had decorating the lobby weren't exactly my cup of tea, but they still served their purpose; to make the lobby look more refined and business-like. The receptionists' desk looked a lot more refined as well – they had a dark wood desk with a desktop that looked to resemble marble. I told the blonde sitting behind the desk who I was, and her eyes widened a bit, but pointed to her left and told me that his office was second door on the right side of the hallway. When I got there I saw Katrina, the secretary, come out of Garrett's office. I hoped she was feeling alright, her cheeks looked a bit flushed. The two of us exchanged hellos and Katrina told me that I could go ahead in. When I walked in I saw Garrett in his chair facing away from me at his computer – nothing I'm not already used to. I cleared my throat a bit, this seemed to stir him from whatever it was he was doing.

"Hi babe, um what brings you here? I thought your workout session thing didn't finish up until four?" Garrett said checking his watch. I shrugged and informed him that he and I decided to cut it short for today and that he took me shopping and showed me what all was healthy for me to eat and how to find out for myself. I wanted to smack the back of his head hard when I realized that as I was explaining what went on in my day today he was back to doing what it was that he was doing for a case. I knew that he had had his hands full with wrapping things up with the drug dealer case he had represented, but it would be nice if he even pretended to be listening to me.

Thank goodness he used the brains god gave him and quickly looked up a few minutes after I stopped talking. I saw the remorse in his eyes. He realized that he had gone back to working and wasn't listening to what I was telling him. Both he and I needed to work on this. I started again, and when I got to the eating healthier part Garrett put his two cents in about it; he seemed to think we eat healthy already. _"That's what we hired Laurent for, Bells."_ Garrett told me. Yes, Laurent was a big help and that he made sure to use only the freshest ingredients in our meals. Well that was all well and good, but I wasn't sure I wanted to be the one to tell Laurent that he would not be allowed to use butter to grease the pans he cooked in. Laurent was very particular in his cooking methods – no one was to tell him how to cook his food. I was grateful that Garrett offered to talk to Laurent for me and try to politely tell him that he was no longer allowed to use so much butter in his recipes. I also hoped that Laurent would not get offended and threaten to leave.

"Well since you're here, why don't you and I go out to eat for dinner? We can give Laurent the night off as well as Victoria and James. We can take the kids with us; it can be the four of us – our little family." I liked this idea and gladly agreed. Garrett and I walked out of his office, but were stopped by his secretary. Her expression worried me a bit, would she be telling me that something came up and Garrett would have to cancel our dinner plans before we even made them? "Garrett that was Dion Carter, the drug dealer you represented last month, on the phone. He's very angry. He told me that he blames you for the fact that now he'll be in jail for the next five to ten years. Should we be worried?" I could see the apparent fear on Kate's face and I couldn't help but start to feel a bit worried myself. Would this crazy man try to go after my husband or my kids in retaliation? Garrett calmed both us down and told us there would be nothing to worry about and that this Dion character is just overreacting – today was the hearing not the actual trial. He wasn't sure if he could win the case, but he would definitely try his best. This Dion Carter dude didn't sound all that bright if he expected to have his charges dropped if he had been caught red handed trying to sell the drugs he claims he didn't even have on him.

Once everything was cleared up and I was assured that we wouldn't have to sleep with one eye open we picked the kids up and went to a very nice, very quaint restaurant. We were seated and served quickly. When it finally came time to go home and get the kids ready for bed the Valet that had been at the podium all but ran to Garrett and whispered something that obviously angered him. When the Valet left to go get the car I calmly asked him what was wrong and what Garrett told me I wasn't expecting at all. All four of the tires on Garrett's car were flat, windows were shattered, and numerous dents on the car, but the last thing Garrett told me confused me a bit. He told me that whoever vandalized the car had also spray painted a graffiti-style cobra on the hood of the car.

"A cobra is the symbol for the King Cobras – a very dangerous, very well known gang." I had almost wished Garrett didn't explain it to me. I didn't want to ask the next question, and thankfully I didn't have to, he confirmed that the drug dealer he had represented was part of one of Chicago's most dangerous gangs.

I covered my mouth when I set my sights on Garrett's car, it was a very nice car –_had been_ a nice car. He called the police and filed a report, and he told me to take the kids home in a cab and that he would be home after he talked with the police.

The entire cab ride home I nearly snapped at Alex to please be quiet and to stop asking why 'daddy's car was smashed', but I didn't have to because Charlotte yelled at him to shut up for me. Though I was thankful for my little helper I had to politely scold her for telling her brother to shut up.

It wasn't until well near_11:30pm_ that I was able to get the two of them to bed. Garrett texted me that he would be home soon and that I could go ahead and get ready for bed. I could tell that what happened to his car really shook Garrett up. He made a lot of money, and cherished all of his belongings he bought with it. His car was the one he was able to buy when he got the bonus for agreeing to work for Katz Criminal Law Firm. The car had a lot of sentimental value to him – I included.

When I got into bed and had just turned out the light I heard Garrett coming in the front door. I wanted to wait up and talk to him about what happened with the police, and ask if we should be worried about another attack, but sleep was coming hard and fast. I felt my eyelids grow heavy and I could vaguely make out what he was telling me as he slipped into bed next to me. Sleep came shortly after he told me that we didn't have anything else to worry about.


	11. Always the Last to Know (pt1)

**Hello all, thank you all again for the continuing support and all the favorites and follows! They really help me get motivated to write. I want to make sure you're all enjoying the story!**

**This chapter will be a tad shorter (not to mention a little cliffhanger) BUT part 2 will post tomorrow so you won't have to wait too long to see how things turn out ;)**

**Big thanks go to my lovely team of ladies! You know who you are and how awesome you make this story with your little adjustments! :)**

**This chapter is titled, Always the Last to Know by Del Amitri**

* * *

"_So tell me why you don't just hire a private detective to follow that lying-cheating S.O.B. – don't you dare tell me that just because you're screwing around with Edward. Because I will tell you right now that that doesn't matter. How many times have I had to listen to you complain about that man? How many times have I had to convince you that that idiot still loves you – even though I personally think you should just kick him to the curb" _Alice spoke. I swear I wonder why I ever call her for advice. I love my sister I seriously do, but there were times I wanted to slap her hard against the head.

I had called to ask her opinion on whether or not I should be worried about what happened to Garrett's car last night, and somehow she thought that that was her way to weasel in a dig at him. Granted, the thought of hiring a private detective did cross my mind a time or two over the years, and what with the two questionable phone conversations I've overheard recently, the decision to make the phone call seemed clearer.

"Alice, I called you to ask you your opinion on the whether or not I should be worried about things escalating after last night. And before you even attempt to tell me otherwise, I will hang this phone up my dear sister." I smiled at the fact I actually sounded convincing – Alice usually saw right through my attempts and made it a point to call me out on them too.

"_Fine, I will stay on topic, but just to let you know Jasper has a close friend who's a private detective and I'm sure he can get him to do this for a fair price."_ Of course she had to throw that in there as bait.

Could I really go through with this – hire a private detective to follow Garrett around and snoop into his financial records? I sighed and agreed that I would meet with this man. I could see if I wanted to go through with this and go from there.

"_Perfect! His name is J. Jenks – and before you weenie out on me Bells, I set up a tentative meeting at the Starbucks there in Midlothian. I know I'm a little bit pushy – "_

"A _little_ bit Alice? That is the understatement of the century. What would you have done if I hadn't even agreed to the idea of hiring a private detective? Please don't tell me that you would've hired him anyway and not tell me." As the words left my mouth I realized that been _exactly_ what my little sister would've done.I sighed in defeat and asked Alice for the day and time I was to meet with this J. Jenks fellow.

"_He told me that he will be at the Starbucks today between three and four this afternoon – in the off chance you wanted to get the meeting over with. Honestly I'm not all that sure why he was so willing to meet right away, he is usually a fairly busy man."_ I had a few theories why this man wanted to quickly get this meeting over with, and one of them involved a certain short-haired pixie constantly butting her nose in where it didn't belong. Plus I had a feeling that Alice would constantly call this man and make sure that the date they scheduled was still ok and give him the information in every phone call. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see how Alice fixated on something she was very passionate about.

I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was quarter past three. If I was going to go through with this I'd better get going. I gathered my keys and sent a quick text to Victoria asking her if she would mind picking Charlotte up from school and picking Alex up early from preschool. When I got her reply that she wouldn't mind, I got in my car and headed to my meeting. There was an empty space in front of the café and when I walked in and ordered my drink. I knew that if Edward ever found out that I was cheating and ordering a coffee he would definitely punish me for it – but would that really be a bad thing?

As I stood there, I decided to do a bit of people watching and look for anyone that even remotely had a private detective vibe; nobody was sticking out or sending me signals that they were the detective.

While waiting to pick up my drink a man – he was medium build, a glistening white smile, and medium length flaxen-colored hair – stood next to me with a smile that was teetering between friendly and judgmental. I'm not sure why, but this man was staring at me as if he knew me. I kept stealing glances at him from the corner of my eyes, and he seemed to be doing the same. They called his name first; I think the lady behind the counter called out _Jason Jenks_. Now, that couldn't be a coincidence. I chewed on my lower lip trying to gather the courage to strike up a conversation and ask him if he knew Alice and Jasper.

"When you get your drink Isabella, meet me over at the table in the corner over there." The golden-haired man said as he pointed to a table that was in the corner, but still in plain view; privacy but not obvious to alert anyone that we would be trading something illegal or something.

_So it's safe to say that this handsome man was the J. Jenks I was to meet. Alice must have called or text him I was coming._

Finally the barista got around to making my coffee, and I took a sip to see if I needed to add and sugar or cream – thankfully that wasn't the case.

"So tell me your side of the situation Isabella, what's happened that you require my services?" Wow, he was direct and to the point. I explained how my and Garrett's marriage had been for the past year or two. I mentioned the two phone calls I overheard, and this seemed to surprise even Jason Jenks. "I see, well I have a few routine questions I have to ask you; so please do not be offended; though you don't look easily offended." Jenks said with a playful smirk. I rolled my eyes and told him that I was ready for his line of questioning.

A lot of the questions I answered "yes" to, were like _"Has there been a sudden increase in time away from home?" _or, _"Have you noticed a decrease in sexual interest towards you?"_, and my 'favorite' question he asked me, _"Does your husband have suspicious phone conversations and strange voice mail messages?"_ But there was a lot of questions I hadn't even considered, like checking my phone bill for phone calls that lasted a long duration, and whether or not I have noticed strange purchases or payments on our bank statements. If I wasn't paranoid before I met Jason Jenks, I sure as hell was now.

It was nearing four o' clock and Jason asked me if I still wanted to hire him for his services. I asked him what his services involved and whether or not he needed a deposit first. "No, since you are Alice's sister I see this as personal interest to me, you don't have to give me a deposit. My services, well I will tail your husband in my own car, follow him around at a safe distance and take photos when I can, and seeing as how the only thing you have to go on is strange phone conversations I'll have to get creative with finding out more information. I won't go into detail with you about specifics, but I feel that $1200 flat charge will be payment enough. Now, I've got to go, but I will make sure to call you in a day or two to let you know if there is anything for sure going on. Good afternoon Mrs. Jacobsen." As Jason got up to leave he gave me his business card with all of his contact info on it in case there was any questions I would later think of, or if I just wanted to call and check in with him. When J. Jenks left I was left sitting there still trying to wrap my head around the fact I hired – I _actually_ hired – a private detective to look into whether or not Garrett was actually cheating.

I got a refill on my coffee and asked for a travel lid. I had just gotten to the driver side of the car when I felt a hard shove against my back, shoving me hard against the vehicle. I was about to turn around to see who had me pinned between them and my car when I felt a hard object pressed into my back. I could feel my blood run cold and I was frozen with fear; I didn't dare move in the off chance that what this stranger was holding against my back was a gun.

"Ay mami, no sudden movements and you get to go home to your precious expensive house! Give me your purse!" I was frozen, I couldn't move a muscle. I also hadn't brought my purse with me; I had just brought my wallet with me. But the fact that this man had a gun pointed in the center of my back I didn't think he would believe anything I told him – truth or not. "I-I don't have my purse with me…" I stammered out between shaky breaths. This seemed to really piss him off. He grabbed ahold of my shoulder so tight I was fairly certain I would have a nice handprint-shaped bruise on my upper arm.

"Do you take me for a tonto, mami?! Give me your damned purse lady!" The man tried – successfully I might add – scaring me by raising the gun to rest just under my jaw. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding when he released my arm, but my joy was short-lived when he grabbed my chin with his free hand. Once again he demanded me to give him my purse and I stupidly told him that I didn't have one. My breathing stopped all together when I heard the chillingly metallic click of the man pulling back the hammer of the gun. He gave me one more chance to give it to him. I told him that I would give it to him, and slowly reached for my jacket pocket. Off in the distance I heard the sounds of what I believed to be police sirens coming towards us. This did the trick and the thug took off running away from me, but not before he pistol-whipped me so hard that I fell hard onto the ground. The left side of my face, close to my left eye, was starting to throb and my vision struggled to focus. I was thankful I hadn't lost consciousness – at least not yet – and willed myself to stay coherent.

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**I will see you all tomorrow!**

**Let me know what you think! I want to know your theories as to what will happen in the next chapter. Who will we meet? (its a somewhat important character) ;)**


	12. Always the Last to Know (pt2)

**Hello all! **

**Sorry for being so evil and leaving you all hanging, but here is part two of chapter 11! We will also be meeting a new character in this part of the chapter (sorry for the confusion if there was any yesterday)**

**I want to thank my amazing team of ladies** dolphin20**, **NemoNewbie**, **Susan Roninson**. You all help make this story a 1,000 times bettter!.**

**This part of the chapter is also titled, ****Always the Last to Know by Del Amitri.**

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When my vision finally returned to normal, I realized that I was on the ground next to my car and that a police officer ran past me to catch whoever it was that had tried to rob me. It took a minute to realize that a second officer was calmly trying to get my attention. He was asking if I was alright, and if I could stand on my own. My thoughts were still a bit jumbled, but I felt that I had enough balance that I could stand up with no assistance. I was about halfway up when my vision started to blur and then the next thing I saw were the back of my eye lids.

I wasn't sure how long I had been out, but as I was starting to wake up I could hear faint voices talking about me like I wasn't even in the room.

"It's ok Mrs. Jacobsen. You're in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Do you know what happened to you?" I was just about to answer when a bright light was shown in my eyes, making me cringe away from the sudden brightness. I knew exactly what happened. I had just gotten through with meeting with the private investigator that would follow Garrett and to see if he was cheating like I thought he was, when I was held up at gunpoint next to my car. I refused to hand over my purse – which I didn't have with me – and then I heard police sirens, and before he left the thug decided to take his frustration out on me.

"I see, well you're on your way to the hospital and going to get checked out. Is there anyone we should call to come pick you up?"

"M-my sister, Alice, she can meet us at the hospital. Which hospital should I tell her we're headed for?" I wanted to know so that I could text my sister where to meet me. The EMT told me that we were headed for Palos Community Hospital. I was surprised that my vision had cleared some; texting seemed to be a bit easier than I had originally expected.

"Now Mrs. Jacobsen, can you describe the young man who tried to steal your purse?" I felt myself jump at the sudden sound of an abrupt – yet soothing – male voice speak from my left. I turned and saw that it was Officer Denali sitting next on the bench next to me.

I gave a vague description of the man who assaulted me, I remember that he had two teardrop tattoos under his right eye, I think that he had a spider web tattoo on his neck, only hair he had had been his goatee; and that was a dark brown color. The officer asked if I knew how tall he was, and I told him that he was no taller than I was, and I was about 5'5 – 5'6 on a good day.

When I was wheeled in on a gurney into the emergency room I was surprised that there wasn't more patients in here, I mean according to the news gang violence was a regular thing these days. A nurse came and took my vitals, and when she finished she told me that the doctor on call would be with me shortly; which was code for they'd get to me when they got to me. I had just decided to take a short nap when I heard the familiar voice of my younger sister shouting at the top of her lungs calling for me. I let out a huff and sat up to let Alice where I was; though I would much rather pretend that I didn't exist at this very moment.

"Oh my god, what happened to your face? Does this hospital even have a plastic surgeon, because, otherwise you'll have a scar on that pretty face of yours!" Good old' Alice, always the optimist.

"Well, then it's a good thing that at the previous hospital I worked at I was an attending in plastic surgery. Now, who do we have here?" Said a man, who looked too gorgeous to be a doctor; was I on an episode of _Grey's Anatomy_ or something? I mean this guy could give McDreamy a run for his money. He had the same hair, but instead of dark brown, this doctor had bright blond hair that was slicked back, bright blue eyes, and a calming smile that quickly put me at ease.

There was one thing though that I couldn't quite put my finger on; he looked so familiar, but I just couldn't place it.

"Doctor Cullen, here's the lab results you wanted for the patient in bed three." A nurse said after giving him the file with the results.

_Wait, did that nurse just address McDreamy as 'Dr. Cullen'; as in Edward's dad? Edward had told me that his dad had been a doctor…_

Dr. Cullen quickly excused himself and apologized. I was left with my thoughts as I started my comparison of the two. They both had the same bone structure, though Dr. Cullen had blonde hair, it was still wavy like Edward's – his mother must have the dark-auburn hair. Alice was being quiet for once and scrolling through her Facebook; I made sure to warn her NOT to put that I was at the hospital as her status, which earned me an eye roll from her.

After about fifteen minutes Dr. Cullen came back over and was carrying a metal chart that had my personal information on it. "I do apologize for earlier, we are a bit understaffed here, and I see here that you have a facial laceration on, what appears to be, your left cheek. I dare say what happened?" Dr. Cullen said as he took a step or two closer to examine my cut a bit better. "It doesn't appear to be too deep. It says here that you fainted at the scene? Are you feeling lightheaded at all; any headaches?" I shook my head no and told him that I felt fine, and that the only thing that really hurt was my pride more than anything. "Well, since it appears that the cut isn't too deep I'm going to have a nurse rinse and clean it out, then I will be back to personally suture that pretty face of yours." The doctor said with a wink and a smile. I blushed a bit – yet another sign that this was definitely Edward's father.

I chewed on my lip while the nurse tried to carefully – as best she could – rinse out the cut, and apply a cleansing solution that would wipe away any bacteria from the cut. The doctor appeared shortly after the nurse finished, just like he promised and immediately started to get to work. He did a good job of keeping me distracted from what he was doing. I saw Officer Denali –Eleazar talking with a woman in maroon-colored scrubs and if I didn't know better I'd say that that was his wife.

I say this because after the short argument they were having he grabbed her by her shoulders and kissed her with so much passion. "Well, it looks like my job is done; now Mrs. Jacobsen, I applied a thin layer of liquid sutures, and this bandage can come off in a few hours. You will have a definite bruise for a few weeks, but I feel comfortable with you going home with your sister. I hope that I don't see you again in here." Again with that damned smirk of his, I was _definitely_ certain now that Doctor Cullen was Edward's father. I didn't know why Edward said that he and his dad don't get along – he was so gentle and kind towards me…

"Well, that was fun, are you done now? Do you have to talk to any other police officers?" I shook my head no and that they got all the information and pictures they needed from me. I was definitely ready to go home. Alice told me she would drop me off at my house, and have either Garrett or Jasper come and take the car home. I told her that that wasn't necessary, I could drive it home myself, but she wasn't having it – she wanted me to go home and rest. I wanted to put up a fight, but decided not to and reluctantly agreed to her plan. I mentioned that instead of bothering Garrett or Jasper to just have a tow truck bring it to the house.

When I got home, the kids ran towards me, but stopped short; both of their eyes were wide with shock. There must be an obvious bruise forming on my left cheek. Alex asked me if I got in a fight, and I just explained that I had been someplace and fell. My four year old son didn't question my response and took off to his room to play. Charlotte stuck around for a little while longer and went outside to play on the play set.

"Ok Bella, tell me the truth, what happened?" Victoria spoke. I both loved and hated how she could see right through me and know when I wasn't being completely truthful. "Don't tell me Garrett gave that to you!" Victoria asked with shock. I vehemently disagreed and told her the abbreviated version of my day – making sure to leave out my meeting with J. Jenks. Laurent heard this and immediately went to the freezer to get me a gel ice pack.

I tried to tell him that I was fine and that it looked a lot worse than it felt; though I was lying a bit on that part he still saw fit to have me sit down at the kitchen island and put the gel ice pack on my cheek for a few minutes. I knew he meant well, but so far it didn't seem that swollen. But Laurent and Victoria both told me that I would be thanking him in the morning when I woke up and my cheek looked like I went ten rounds with a MMA fighter.

I hated to agree with them, especially knowing that I bruise fairly easy, so I just sat there in silence and listened to Laurent sing in French while he was cooking dinner.

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**I know that not a lot happened in this chapter, but the next chapter will help get the ball rolling. Without giving too much away Bella will find out that Garrett has been cheating, and she may or may not catch them in the act! (you all will have to stay tuned to find out!)**

**Thank you all again for your amazingly kind words, and also for all of those who add this story to your favorites and alerts! You all help me keep going and I thank you all for that. There have been times in previous stories where i don't get a lot of feedback, and that hinders me from updating more regularly.**

**See you all next week!**

**- Megan**


	13. Roll to Me

**SO SO SO SORRY! I haven't been able to post until today! (I got a new phone and it won't let me upload to Fanfiction) So hopefully it will fix itself and let me upload from there so I can update more than just once a week!**

**I love that you all are enjoying this story, and I hope that you all continue to like it!**

**Thank you to my lovely team of ladies! (dolphin20, Susan Robinson, and NemoNewbie) you girls help me keep this story amazing!**

**The song for this chapter is titled **Roll to Me** by** Del Amitri**.**

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Today would definitely test my patience, and that was because it was my turn to host Thanksgiving for my family. This would mean that the extended family was to come as well. I hoped that my parents were civil towards one another like they had been for Charlotte's birthday party two months ago. Now, normally Laurent would cook any meals we would be having, but Garrett and I decided to give him the next two weeks off to relax and spend time with his own family. Laurent was reluctant at first to leave, but when I assured him that _I _wouldn't be personally cooking the Thanksgiving dinner he was more assured that he wouldn't come back to a burned kitchen.

I could cook just fine, but to Laurent my cooking skills could greatly improve.

The entire morning was spent with Alice, Rosalie, and I cooking Thanksgiving lunch and it was going perfectly – until the smoke alarm went off. We nearly all jumped out of our skins and I went to the oven and opened the door to see that I had just gotten to the turkey before the poor bird was burned to a crisp.

"Well, good thing that our family likes our meat well-done. How's the pumpkin pie coming Rose?" Alice asked as she was starting to pour the sweet potato casserole into the dish. I personally didn't like that casserole much, but I knew that my dad absolutely loved it. I was pretty sure that Sue sold it around Thanksgiving in her diner – another reason he probably liked it so much. Rosalie was putting the finishing touches on her rendition of pumpkin pie and I had finished with the turkey. I had to lift the large serving dish that the turkey sat on up out of the way as Alex and Charlotte came running through the dining room playing a game of tag.

"Wow, that is a nice looking bird Bells, looks too good to eat – well almost too good…" I smacked Garrett's hand before he could pinch off a piece of the skin to the turkey. I swear that I had three children sometimes instead of two.

The whole family would be here in an hour or two, and I still had the ham to slice up and put down on the table, along with the hash brown casserole that was Phil's favorite. And the traditional green bean casserole also had to be put in the oven. This was one of the few occasions I was thankful that Laurent demanded that we purchase an oven that could cook more than two things – this oven could cook four casseroles all at the same time.

When three o' clock rolled around everyone had arrived, and I was happy to see that Leah and Seth, Sue's children, seemed to be in better spirits than when I last saw them at Charlotte's party. I could only assume things had cooled down with Leah and she was finally seeing how awesome my dad was. We were seated and started eating around three-thirty. Of course, it wouldn't be a Swan-Hale Thanksgiving if we didn't have a television in the dining room so that the boys, and Rosalie, could watch the all-day college football marathon. We made idle chit chat as we ate and tried to save room for dessert, but that didn't happen, and I was pretty sure that Alex would have a belly ache later this evening.

Things started to dwindle down and naps were being taking from all of the turkey that was eaten that we almost didn't recognize that there was a knock at the front door. Seeing that no one was bothering to get up to answer it, I got up from my spot on the couch and went to see who it was. I was a bit surprised when I saw that it was Kate standing at the front door, and she had her son with her. I was a bit stunned – too stunned to be polite and greet her properly.

"I apologize. Garrett, he tells me that if I see fit, that Arron and I could come spend Thanksgiving with you and your family. That is, if that is alright with you. I can see by the look on your face that Garrett failed to tell you this piece of news. I can go if that would be best –"

I stopped her right there and allowed her to come in. I told her we had already eaten lunch, but that she and her son were more than welcome to come in and eat. I wanted to strangle Garrett for not telling me this, and I felt even worse for Kate. She had no idea that Garrett had been an idiot and didn't tell me he had invited her to spend Thanksgiving with us. But if my memory serves me correctly, Garrett had told me that all of Kate's family is back in Slovakia, and that it was just her and Arron here. I can see why Garrett would invite her to spend Thanksgiving with us.

I made Kate and Arron a plate of food, and for some unknown reason I made myself a plate as well – no one should eat alone.

When Garrett walked through the kitchen from the family room I will admit I took sick pleasure in how surprised that he was to see Kate and her son sitting in his kitchen talking with me. Guilt was written all over his face and I gave him a knowing look – a look that told him that I would definitely be bringing this up with him later this evening when everyone went home.

James and Victoria, both who were given two weeks off as well to go be with their families but had decided to stay with us had come into the kitchen and told us that they wanted to talk with Garrett and I in private. My first guess would be that they were going to say that Victoria was pregnant, or possibly that they were finally going to admit – not only to themselves – that they have been dating all this time.

We were in Garrett's office and I could feel the awkwardness as the four of us stood in complete silence.

"Well, out with it man, what is this important news that you can't have anyone else overhearing?" Garrett said with a playful smirk and elbowed James in the gut. This was the first time I think that I saw James blush – ever. Victoria spoke first by telling us that she and James had been dating for quite some time now and that they were finally ready to make it official by telling us. I couldn't help but break out into fits of laughter. When I finally calmed down both Garrett and I admitted to the both of them that we had known from day one. This shocked the two of them and James rubbed the back of his neck. I could tell that he was embarrassed and that he felt like a fool.

"If you knew all this time why didn't either one of you say anything?"

"Well, it wasn't my place to say anything James. I knew that when you two were ready to tell us that you would."

James swore under his breath and tried to fight back a smile. Victoria was smiling and told us that there was more news to be told. James had asked Victoria to marry him. They were leaving for Canterbury, England. He wanted to take Victoria to meet his family so that they could meet the woman he would marry. I will admit I was a bit sad that I wouldn't be attending the wedding – they were planning to elope while they were in England. I joked that they were eloping because Victoria was pregnant, but when I wasn't met with laughter and smiles I froze.

_Oh boy…way to go and put your foot in your mouth Bella._

I quickly apologized and asked how far along she was. Victoria told me that she found out at her appointment last week that she was nearly three months pregnant. Both she and James had decided to be surprised about the gender of the baby, but Victoria did tell me that she felt that the baby was a boy; and if it was a boy she was going to name him Riley Anderson.

Later on after James and Victoria had made their hasty exit I was just about to take Garrett to a different room and lay into him about the whole issue with Kate, when I saw Alex playing with Arron outside on the swing set I was frozen in place. I couldn't get over how much alike the boys looked; they both had light brown hair, but Alex had my pale skin and Arron had Kate's complexion. Maybe I was just putting too much thought into it.

I felt my phone vibrate and saw that it was a text message from Jenks. He told me that he had some information that he wanted to show me. He also told me that he would see me at the same Starbucks tomorrow between three and four. It was a bit frustrating that this man automatically assumed that I could just drop everything and come meet him, but I told him that I would be there at three. It worked out perfectly actually; Charlotte wanted to go Black Friday shopping with Alice, and Alex would stay home with Garrett for most of the day. I would tell my husband that I wanted to check out what sales they still had and would go to meet Jenks.

Just the thought about that particular Starbucks made me gently rub the almost-healed bruise on my left cheek. I had heard back from Officer Denali that they were able to apprehend the man who tried to rob me that day, and confirmed that he wasn't associated with the King Cobra gang that had vandalized Garrett's car – they were two isolated incidents.

As Alice and I were putting away the leftovers from our Thanksgiving lunch I found myself start to think about the similarities that Alex and Arron had. Then all at once it hit me; it was possible that Arron could be Alex and Charlotte's half-brother! This possibility started to make me sick to my stomach – actually I was feeling sick a lot lately. There would be times during PTA meetings that I had to sneak off to the restroom and dry heave in the ladies' room, and then there would be times that I would just have episodes of nausea that lasted for most of the day, but then would completely disappear the next day.

I didn't put too much thought into it though, I have been under a lot of stress lately – what with the possibility that my marriage was in shambles, the fact that Arron could be Garrett's secret love child, and then there was the whole issue with me falling head over heels in love with Edward.

I'm sure once everything settled down that all of this nausea would diminish.

_~*MTAONS*~_

"So Mrs. Jacobsen, here is all I've been able to find out since our last meeting. I do apologize that I could not stay longer; I want you to know that I feel personally responsible for what happened to you after I left." The strange part was that I think that Jason actually felt that he was responsible, even though I tried to tell him that he couldn't have possibly known that that would've happened and that I didn't blame him.

I urged him to show me what all he had uncovered in the past week. I was not prepared for what I saw. Jason Jenks handed me a file that was filled with bank statements, and a few surveillance video stills of Garrett at some of the hotels he told me he stayed at while he had been out of town when he was working the longer hours. What surprised me most was that there was a $5,000 withdrawal from a bank account that I didn't recognize. I didn't manage the money; I left that to Garrett to do because he told me that he preferred it this way.

When I told Jenks that I hadn't recognized the bank account he wasn't surprised. He told me that this was the case when a spouse was hiding something they didn't want their significant other finding out what they were doing. The photos that were in the file about broke my heart. The photos showed Garrett walking down a hotel hallway to his room with a woman clinging to him rather too close for my liking. I felt a wave of nausea come over me as Jenks told me that he had looked into these photos and people staying in the rooms on either side of Garrett's reported loud noises coming from his room.

But what made it even worse for me was the timestamp on these photos. The confusion on my face was evident and he told me that he checked into the hotel's security system, and found out that the managers at the hotel keep the surveillance videos up to five years. This explained why the date and time stamp was dated five years ago. A lot of the photos in the file were of Garrett and this same woman. The video this was taken from was grainy and this was the most enhanced photo they could get; something about this woman though was painfully familiar to me.

"I did more digging and when I brought up your husband to the hotel manager he didn't know who he was at first, but when I showed him a picture of your husband he remembered right away. He remembered your husband because he was the only customer that ever gave him a $200 tip to make sure that they were not disturbed while they were at the hotel." More nausea came over me. I got and ran to the restroom. I hunched over the sink and splashed cold water on my face to try and soothe the nausea. I took in my appearance and I was surprised I didn't look as green as I felt.

_Alice was right, she's been right this entire time. Why didn't I listen to her from the beginning?_

It would've saved me a lot of heartache. I knew I wasn't exactly a saint, but I at least felt guilty about what happened with Edward. This was the first time in eight years I strayed from my marriage, and to find out that your husband has been cheating on you for the past five years is a lot to take in. When I felt that my stomach had settled I returned to my seat and listened to the rest of what Jason had to say. He told me that he dug further into Garrett's mystery woman and couldn't find much other than a general description the maid gave him in his investigation.

"Now I know this probably wasn't what you wanted to hear Mrs. Jacobsen, and I do apologize that your suspicions were correct. I will tell you that this file is yours to keep, and I wish you the best of luck with how you decide to proceed with the information I've given you." With a sip of his coffee Jenks was up and out the door and I was left sitting here still soaking this information in. What could I do?

I mean the "pissed off woman" in me wanted to confront Garrett right now and demand he come clean, but the other half of me wanted to bury this information and pretend that everything was ok and that my husband hasn't been cheating on me for the past five years!

Next month was Christmas, and then after that it would be New Years. I couldn't ruin Christmas for my children with an ugly divorce, because that would be what would happen when I would tell Garrett what I've found out. I wanted to give my children at least a pleasant memory of Christmas and New Years before it was all shot to hell by the looming ugly divorce.

Part of me wanted to blame Alice for all of this; if she hadn't pushed me to hire Jenks to investigate Garrett I would never have known what I know now.

But I knew that she was only looking out for me, someone had to; I tended to put others before me. That would no longer be the case after the holidays. I would finally stand up for myself and be happy. I would need to resist the lust I had for Edward so that I could get all of my ducks in a row before I served my husband divorce papers.

I mean it couldn't be that hard to resist my Adonis…right?

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**Stay tuned! Chapter 13 will be posted soon!**

**Please don't hate me, and I am trying to figure out the issue with my phone and updating from it.**

**Thank you all so much for your love and support!**

**-Megan**


	14. Christmastime Is Here

**To make up for not being able to post this past Wednesday, I am uploading chapters 12 and 13 today!**

**If it turns out that I can no longer update my story from my phone, would you all be ok with me updating twice in one day? (Let me know in your review)**

**Now this is where things start to get a bit interesting (especially in chapter 15) ;)**

**I want to thank my lovely ladies: dolphin20, Susan Robinson, and NemoNewbie!**

**Also, this chapter is titled after the song **Christmastime Is Here** by the **Vince Guaraldi Trio**.**

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"Wait, so you mean to tell me there's a possibility that the cute little boy Alex was playing with could be Garrett's love child from the affair – the affair I _knew_ he was having?!" Alice said. I looked around the shopping mall we were in to make sure that my sister's outburst hadn't drawn any attention to either of us. I love my sister, but the only volume setting she has is loud and _louder_.

"Yes, that is a possibility, now would you keep your voice down? I don't want the entire mall knowing my business. Now what should I do? Should I confront Garrett about this, or should I keep it to myself? Don't give me that look Alice," My sister was giving me a hard glare and I knew her feelings on the situation, but she had a way of telling me what she thought without ever opening her mouth. "I know you think I should just tell him I know and get it over with. But what would that do to the kids? I don't want to have Alex and Charlotte associate Christmas with the day their parents got divorced." I knew it was a bit of a cop out, but it was the truth.

This silenced my sister and we continued our shopping.

It was nearing the time where people would put a pause on their shopping and go to the food court for lunch, and this meant that the stores were less busy for those who put off eating. I had finished shopping for Garrett, and was about to head into the lion's den – otherwise known as the Disney Store. This was every parent's nightmare when it came to shopping. I swear it didn't have to be their birthday or Christmas, both of my children would pull and tug at me to take them into that god-forsaken place, and like a good mother would, I agreed to go in there but told them we weren't going to buy anything.

_Yeah, that never, ever, happens. I usually end up buying at least two or three toys for Alex and Charlotte each._

I got a couple toys for Alex and a few dress-up clothes for Charlotte. Thankfully I made a clean get away from that store and met up with Alice in a store I had not expected her to ever shop, at least for a Christmas gift.

She had gone into a store that sold adult toys, and was currently perusing the different toys that they had available. I'm fairly certain my cheeks had flushed fifty shades of red just standing in the store.

"Alice, what are you doing in here? We are supposed to be Christmas shopping!" I whispered. I wanted to get out of here before I saw anyone that I recognized. I didn't want people thinking the wrong thing about me.

"What are you ladies doing in a store like this?"

_Dammit! Why did it have to be him? Of course I would have just that kind of luck today._

I turned to see that my ears hadn't deceived me and that Edward was standing mere feet from me and Alice. I swear this was how some jokes would start out. I swallowed hard and tried my best to not let him see how flustered he's was making me.

"I personally think that you should go with this particular toy, but then these things are never as good as the real thing." I about died when he gave me that damned crooked smirk of his. I knew what he was implying and he was making it difficult to avoid all romantic contact with him.

I surprised myself when I realized I had grabbed a 'make your own dildo kit' and gave it to Edward. He had a look of confusion until the next sentence tumbled out of my mouth, "think of it as a Christmas present to me." I winked at him and Edward caught on and did the same before going to the checkout. Once he was gone I about collapsed on the floor when I finally let out the breath I hadn't known I had been holding.

"What the hell was that Bella? I mean I was about to leave the two of you alone and let him take you right there in the store." I smacked my sister's shoulder hard and quickly left the store with Alice trailing behind me cackling like a hyena.

I'm not sure what _had_ gotten into me, but every time I was around Edward I couldn't help but flirt and tease him.

Thankfully we didn't have another encounter with Edward, and we finished the bulk of our shopping. We went to the food court and ate a quick lunch. While I was sipping my Diet Coke I was going over all the lists we had brought along I noticed Alice had gotten up to get a refill on her drink. I shrugged and went back to double checking my purchases.

"I wanted to say "thank you" for the early Christmas gift you gave me, and I wanted to return the favor." I'm pretty sure that my eyes bulged when I heard Edward's sudden voice from across the table. I put my papers down and the look on his expression was filled with mischief. He slid a small brown box across the table towards me. I couldn't hide the smile on my face and picked it up. I decided to tease him and shook the box to try and guess what was inside, but when the box started to vibrate I knew _exactly_ what it was. "Think of it as a Christmas present from me. I'm suspending our sessions until after the new year, and I think that little guy and his buddy in there will keep you company 'til I get back from Florida." I couldn't help it; I asked what was in Florida that he was spending Christmas there. It turns out that his grandparents lived in a retirement community and wanted Christmas to come to them this year instead of having to fly 2,500 miles to a cold and snowy Chicago. I envied him in having relatives in Florida; it's a lot warmer than Washington or New York.

But then my thoughts went back to the 'gift' I gave him earlier in the adult store, and I had a sneaking suspicion what it could be.

"Is it ok if I open it right now, or should I open it someplace a bit more private?" I was genuinely curious, but tried to sound coy. I wouldn't put it past Edward to buy me a sex toy; especially one that vibrated. "Do you honestly think I would give you one of those 'toys'? Bella, you should know better than anyone how much I personally like to make you climax all by myself, no extra help." I could feel my cheeks redden. I remember the few times I've been with Edward, that he preferred to be the one to make me cum – this was strange to me at first, but now I absolutely love it.

I opened the box and took a peek inside. It was one of those vibrating back massager toys that must've activated when I shook the box. I felt dumb, but I honestly wouldn't put it past this man to give me a sex toy. "Don't look so disconcerted, I think it's kind of kinky that you would think I would give you a dildo for Christmas." Edward took a look at his watch and quickly excused himself. I was sad to see him go, but I also was glad that I would have the chance to think about where I stood with my marriage to Garrett, and where my…whatever it is I have with Edward goes.

Alice came back and we jumped back into talking about different shopping strategies. We still had to shop for Charlie, Sue, Seth, and Leah, and were trying to decide where to even begin; neither one of us knew what to get Seth and Leah; Charlie and Sue were a lot easier, and we agreed to start there. My dad had talked about needing a new set of tools for when he finds the time to work on old P.O.S. (piece of shit) cars, between being the Chief of Police and helping Sue with the diner. Sue, she was a bit tougher, only because she was very soft-spoken and never really mentioned what she likes or what she really wants. I tried getting Alice to draw straws, but I gave up and decided to shop for Sue's gift and Alice would go shopping for Charlie's. Granted, hers was a lot easier, all she needed to do would be go to either a Home Depot or Lowe's and get a full tool set.

I suppose I could just give up and buy Sue a gift card, but I wanted our gift to be a bit more personal. I could either shop at Macy's or JcPenny's, but then I remembered that Sue had a thing for ducks – she collected all different kinds of ducks. An antique store caught my eye as I was going to try Macy's first, and walked in. They had a whole section of different kinds of ducks. There were ceramic ducks, wooden duck signs you could put in your yard for decoration, but there was one thing that caught my eye and that was a duck-themed set of China dinner plates. It was a complete set with tea cups and everything. The center of the plates had cute little designs with ducks interwoven, and the outer rim of the plate had a checkered board design in light orange and yellow colors. I went and paid for them and was surprised to find out that they were priced about half of what I expected China plates to be, but didn't question it and went to go find Alice.

_Hey Bells Home Depot across town.  
Wanna meet Rosie up for lunch?  
- LittlePixie_

I chuckled a bit at Alice's new signature she had for her text messages. I swear that she changed them daily.

I sent Alice a quick text back asking her if Chili's was ok, and when she said it was I headed for the parking lot. I stopped short when I saw a Spy Surveillance store lodged between a Claire's and Hot Topic. My curiosity got the best of me and I started looking around at the different spy gear they were selling, and a few gadgets caught my eye; especially some kind of listening device. The information said that it was for all intents and purposes a device that recorded conversations and I could access the audio file wirelessly. It boggled my mind that something so small could be a listening/recording device. I almost bought it, but decided to instead go for some novelty spy glasses. The information card in front of these glasses said that there was a pin-hole camera embedded in them; I wondered if Alice would notice? I mean the camera wasn't even obvious; they looked like a regular old pair of sunglasses.

I got to the restaurant and spotted my sisters sitting at the bar nursing margaritas; I swear those two would find any excuse to have a drink in the middle of the day. I sat down with them and ordered a glass of water. "Don't be so prissy Bella, we're just letting loose after all that stressful shopping. Besides, we're only having the one drink so get your panties out of that wad you seem to have them in and let loose and have a drink with us." Alice said as she raised her margarita glass. I vehemently shook my head no and calmly reminded her of what happened the last time I listened to her and had a drink with her, Rosalie, and my friends.

"Seriously Bells, you're going to continue to hold that one over our heads? I mean come on, the fact that it actually paid off to let your hair down and let loose says a lot about how good Alice is with her so-called visions." Rosalie said. She took another sip of her drink and tried to hide the smirk that was threatening to play over her face.

"I will have you both know that my 'visions' are more like intuition; and Bells, you have give me credit, I told you to go talk to tall dark and brooding and now you've had amazing sex twice and he even gave you a sex toy as a Christmas present. I _wish_ that Jasper would do that for me." I couldn't hold back the cringe I felt come over my body. I quickly told Alice that it wasn't a sex toy, and that it was a back massager to help me relieve some of my stress.

Neither Alice nor Rosalie thought this to be true and told me that I was lying and that I needed to just come out and admit that Edward bought me a sex toy so that I would be less lonely while he was gone. I gave up trying to tell them otherwise and just let them continue on thinking what they wanted.

Over the next couple of hours we made small talk about what presents we got the family, making sure not to spill what we got the other. It wasn't until Rosalie's second strawberry margarita that we found out that Emmett had scrounged up the courage to ask her out on a date. They weren't going to make it an official thing seeing as how they've only been on a handful of dates. But I could tell that Rosalie seemed to really like him, and I could also tell that she was being very cautious with Emmett; she didn't want to have what happened with Royce to happen all over again – but anyone who met Emmett would know that he was as straight as they come.

We talked more about other things in our lives and as it would turn out, Rosalie got a temp job as a receptionist for an auto repair shop. Alice and I both made a bet between us that Rosalie wouldn't last one day as a receptionist and that she would end up covered in grease working on the broken cars. I gave Rose the benefit of the doubt and said that she would last _at least_ one day before giving in to the temptation of working on the cars that would come into the shop.

I stopped by the store on my way home and bought a few groceries so that I could make some home cooked dinners, because that way we wouldn't rely too much on fast food. I knew how to cook; I learned at a young age. My dad was always busy with the police station and mom, well, she would cook, but the woman would burn water – if that tells you anything. I was about fifteen when I started cooking the meals for the family, and Alice was always my 'sous chef', but would end up being the supervisor and just watch as I cooked. I laughed a bit when Garrett mentioned that we didn't need Laurent any more if I could cook this good. I knew he was being sweet, but I liked having Laurent around – and not just because he cooked all the meals. The man was like the grandfather I never got to meet. My grandparents on my dad's side passed away when Alice and I were toddlers, and the grandparents on my mom's side, well my grandfather passed away when I was seven and my grandmother is still alive and living in Forks, but in a retirement home with advanced dementia.

Later that night after washing the dishes and putting the kids to sleep, I got into bed. Garrett was already asleep and snoring away, I couldn't fall asleep as easy tonight. My thoughts were running wild thinking about Edward, and how he and his father didn't get along. I hoped that he would have a decent Christmas with all things considered.

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**Don't forget to tell me what you think of the chapter, and whether or not you like the two updates in one day or try to update twice a week (im flexible either way)**

**Can't wait to hear from you all.**

**-Megan**


	15. The Call

**Happy Hump Day to you all (and those that don't know what that means, it means that it's the middle of the week and we're almost over the hump.**

**This chapter is from the prospective of the one and only Edward! **

**I want to thank my lovely ladies who help me make this story amazing! **Susan Robinson **(You help me make sure that each chapter sounds plausible and makes sense), **dolphin20 **and **NemoNewbie** (you ladies help me correct my grammar and correct my sentences that make no sense at all). I wouldn't be as successful with this story if it weren't for you three ladies.****  
**

**This chapter is titled** The Call** by** Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood**.**

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"_We are now boarding flight 1407 to Miami, Florida. We are inviting passengers with small children and those who need special assistance to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and a form of identification ready. Regular boarding begins in approximately ten minutes. Thank you!"_

I wanted to strangle that overly perky woman working behind the counter, not because I found her annoying, but because I just didn't want to be on this flight and I didn't want to have to suffer through yet another holiday with my father barely giving me the time of day. I swear, ever since I decided that I didn't want to become a doctor like him, he has barely ever acknowledged my existence. The man was a doctor specializing in trauma cases – like if you were to break your leg falling off of a house and break your leg; shit like that.

Sitting here just waiting to board the plane was just torture, and what made it worse was that there were three small children who were going to make our flight very interesting. They were already screaming and yelling at their parents who were doing their best to keep the calm. I swear if those brats were my kids they wouldn't be throwing fucking tantrums. Some of the kids were _way_ too old to be acting the way they were.

Then there was my brother, Emmett, he was sitting next to me not even looking up from his phone. He has been texting with Rosalie, Bella's step-sister, this entire time. He had a hilarious grin on his face whenever he would get around the woman. I liked what Rosalie did for him, she never took any of his shit, and she also turned him to mush just by looking at him a certain way.

"_We are now boarding regular passengers for flight 1407 to Miami, Florida. Please be sure to have proper identification and your boarding pass ready. Thank you!"_ Again with the fake enthusiasm? I swear, no one was buying that she loved her job; the permanent frown on her face was proof of that. I punched Emmett in the shoulder and muttered that it was time to board and we gathered our bags and went to get in line to wait our turn. I just hoped that there would be no further hassle with the staff at the airport. I swear when I was walking through the security lines I was given a prostate exam the way the man was searching me. I set off the alarm both times after removing everything from my pockets – this was the obvious sign that I was some sort of drug mule and had packs of drugs taped to my body or something. I mean, wouldn't the machine that does the full body scan nix that suspicion? Apparently not.

Thankfully, the line moved fairly quickly and we made our way on to the plane. We were in the middle of the plane. This couldn't be helped, seeing as how these were one of the last tickets for a flight to Orlando. Serves me right or waiting until the last minute to book a flight during one of the busiest times of the year.

Once we got to our row a female flight attendant came to assist us, and I couldn't help but notice how she was trying to flirt with the two of us while trying to not come across so obvious – she wasn't doing a very good job.

"Hello, my name is Irina. I will be one of your flight attendants on this flight, can I get either of you fine gentlemen something to drink?" I detected a hint of a Russian accent.

"Yeah, hi Irina, do you guys serve beer on this flight or what?" I snorted trying to hold back my laughter at how blunt Emmett was with her. This obviously flustered her a bit and it took her a few seconds to regain her composure before politely telling us that alcoholic drinks were for first and business class only, and proceeded to give us a short list of what we could have to drink being that we were in economy class.

"We'll have two bottled waters." I said before my brother could spout off some stupid tangent about how unfair it was that he couldn't have his Bud Light. Irina gave a small smile and hurried off to fill our drink order.

"You didn't have to be a complete dick to her Em; she's just doing her job."

"Yeah, well we paid for this flight why do the business class and first class get all the good stuff?" I just rolled my eyes and sighed. It was obvious because they paid more for their flight, and this is what we get for booking a flight last minute – I wasn't about to tell him this and risk losing my head with him shouting at me the entire plane ride.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, welcome onboard Flight 1407. We are currently third in line for take-off and are expected to be in the air in eight minutes time. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments."_

I sighed and kicked back in my seat. We had already done all of this, and the fact that the man up there was telling everyone to do it again was very annoying.

"_We also ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for take-off. Please turn all of your personal electronic devices, including laptops and cell phones. Smoking is prohibited for the duration of the flight. Thank you for flying American Airlines. Enjoy your flight."_

My phone was already turned off. I've been on enough flights with visiting my grandparents on a fairly regular basis that I had all the announcements practically memorized. Irina, the flight attendant, returned with our waters and batted her eyelashes at the two of us before going back to her seat to get ready for take-off. There was a collective gasp from the children on board when the plane began to taxi out to the runway. I tightened my seatbelt when the 'fasten seat belts' light came on.

And like clockwork about halfway into the flight the captain came over the intercom and introduced his self. He gave us the typical greeting. He told us how high we were and how fast we were going. The children on the flight all gasped and giggled at that last factoid. He also added that the cabin crew would be serving a light snack and beverage – your basic boring captain announcement.

I was thankful that I had a seat that was next to the window. I looked outside and I still was amazed that while we were high up in the sky, you could still see the ground and some of the houses – granted it was about 33,000 feet below us. Irina made sure to check in on us and attempted to flirt with us again. I was shocked when Emmett out right told Irina that he wasn't interested and that he had a girlfriend back home.

Flustered, the flight attendant quickly retreated to the galley and Emmett went on like nothing just happened.

"Since when is Rosalie your girlfriend? You two've only dated a handful of times. I've never known you to jump right into a monogamous relationship."  
"Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? So what if I told a little white lie. I am definitely interested in Rosalie, and I can see her and I getting serious – not married serious, but boyfriend/girlfriend serious." My brother said as he stuffed his face with a handful of peanuts. "Beschides, whash's goin on whiff you and Beh-wa?" My brother attempted to ask while chewing with his mouth stuffed with peanuts. He had a point though.

_What is going on with Bella and me?_

I mean, the woman, though smoking hot and gets my blood boiling – not to mention she definitely turns me on just by walking in the room, is married and has two kids. I can't ask her to give that all up and be with me. Granted, she's told me that she's been unhappy with her husband…

_God, I don't even know what to do._

It finally came time to make our descent into Miami five hours later after taking off from Chicago. We did the normal drill we fastened our seatbelts and landed at the Miami airport about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.

Emmett and I hurried off of the plane and went to baggage claim and after waiting for our bags to make an appearance we found that my bags are not on the baggage claim area.

_Of course this would happen to me, especially with the kind of flight we had._

I had a head-splitting headache that I'm fairly certain the only way to get rid of it was to either take an entire bottle of Tylenol or cut my head off at this point. The screaming toddler sitting behind us definitely wasn't helping. I know that the kid was crying from his ears popping and he was confused and it probably hurt him, but why did I have to suffer; couldn't his parents have drove down here in their car?

"Shit, of course I would have this kind of luck; at least I have a change of clothes in my carry on." I said and told Emmett to go ahead and check in at the counter. I would have to file a missing luggage report and hope to God that they find it and ship ahead to my grandparents' address.

I finally finished with dealing with the people in missing luggage and I had to beg and plead to let the woman standing at the gate to let me on. Apparently they had called my name three times and then announced that they were finishing up boarding. I was 'lucky' that I was allowed on the plane at all, the pilot wanted to take off.

_Like it's my fault the take-off time is a half hour behind schedule lady._

Oh how I wish I could say that out loud, but I didn't want to be detained by airport security and miss my connecting flight to Orlando. I didn't need another thing for my father to nag at me over.

I carefully snaked to my seat and plopped down in my seat next to the window – at least I still had a window seat. Emmett was finishing up a phone call with Rosalie as I sat down. He asked me how I was doing and asked what the people in Missing Luggage said about what would be done about my bags. I told him what they told me; if they found my luggage they would call and notify me then have it shipped to the address I put down on the form I had to fill out. I put down our apartment address as well as our grandparents' address. So either way I would still end up with my clothes and suitcase eventually.

"Sounds like a shitty situation, and I heard the flight attendants talking about you – you sure know how to make an appearance Eddy." Emmett smirked. I rolled my eyes and managed not to give him the finger. "What have I said about you using that stupid nickname with me?" I huffed. I absolutely hated that nickname my brother gave me when we were younger. It was cute when we were in preschool, but now that we were almost in our thirties it was rather annoying.

Which would explain why Emmett said it – he loved to annoy the shit out of me.

It wasn't until after 9:30pm we landed in the Orlando airport and went to get our – or should I say Emmett's – luggage.

I saw I had received a text message and checked to see who it was from. I was surprised that I saw it was my mother, I could only assume that my cousin Tanya texted for her, and that was confirmed when I opened it up and read the text.

_Hey Ed, usin' ur mom's cell.  
We r dwn by the food court  
Get your ass over here b4 I eat  
all your French fries!_

Only my cousin Tanya would text like this, she uses shorthand text so much that I've actually seen when she's writing things down on paper it reads the way she texts.

Tanya's father and my mother are brother and sister, and Tanya just graduated high school earlier in the year and convinced her parents to allow her to take a year off before she started college. Before I booked the flight she called to tell me that she would have a surprise that she wanted to show me in person – apparently it was something that couldn't be done over the phone.

I relayed Tanya's message to Emmett and we headed for the food court. What I saw when Emmett and I got to the food court surprised me, and rendered Emmett speechless. My eighteen year old cousin looked like she was hiding a beach ball under her shirt. I mean this was my baby cousin, she wasn't supposed to be pregnant. She was supposed to go to college, have fun, party all night and sleep all day; she wasn't supposed to be a mother so young. But being pregnant didn't seem to hinder Tanya's demeanor, because once she spotted us she hurried – as fast as a pregnant woman could hurry – to greet us. I steadied her when she lost her balance after our hug.

"I know what you're thinking, and I wasn't planning on this ever happening; at least for a few years. But I've actually grown to like the idea of being a mother. I even have a name picked out and everything. What do you think of the name, _Olivia Quinn Platt_? I just love how cute it sounds!" And her gushing continued even after we took our seats at the table. My mother, Esme, tried desperately to get Tanya to take a breath and just relax; she joked that if Tanya wasn't careful she would have the baby right here in the middle of this food court; Tanya quieted down at that comment and continued eating from the tray full of food before her.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up or not boys, you two are cutting it kinda close aren't we?" I just shrugged my shoulders and Emmett apologized. I snickered when I heard he accidentally use my mother's first name instead of 'mom'. My mother didn't like it when Emmett did this and always corrected him. When Emmett was eight his mother was in her hospital with terminal leukemia she had told my mother that she wasn't getting better and that she wanted Emmett to come live with us. So yeah, being six years old I was excited to finally have an older brother; but what I got instead was a complete stranger. Emmett kept to himself and didn't bother to try to get to know me. I would go to his door and ask if he wanted to play, and he would either tell me to go away or he wouldn't give a response.

And now that he and I were running our own business together says how far he and I have come, and he is very much like my older brother.

"Sorry _mom_, but Eddy here got held up with airport security and –" I wanted to strangle Emmett at that very moment, I knew what he was doing and I would definitely pay him back for it later.

"Whoa, wait hold up, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen what did you do that you had to involve the airport security?!"

_Thanks a lot Emmett…_

I gave the quick version of what happened and I couldn't help but cringe when I saw my cousin's eyes light up. I knew what that meant and it meant that I would have to suffer through a shopping trip with a hormonal seven month pregnant woman.

God help me.

_*~MTAONS~*_

I managed to put it off for as long as possible, but after suffering through two days with only one change of clothes I decided that I would go shopping with Tanya for some clothes to help me brave the time I would be trapped here with my entire family. Now, shopping with Tanya was the most miserable six hours – yes I said six hours – of my life. Since I apparently lost my entire luggage that was a sign to the shopping gods that I needed a completely new wardrobe. I'm not even kidding my cousin took me to like twelve different shops and I ended up buying a few shirts and a couple of jeans.

As I sat here in the food court listening to my cousin go on and on about what all she still needed to buy for her baby I couldn't help but start wondering what Bella was doing at this very moment. It hadn't 's not even been a whole day since I last saw her back home and I couldn't get her out of my head. I wanted to call her and see how things were going for her. I knew that she was married – I don't normally get involved with married women, but something about her really spoke to me. I held my cell phone in my hand and stared at the screen trying to decide if I should call her or not.

"You do know that you actually have to dial the number in order to talk to someone right Ed?" Tanya said in between eating her tray of assorted food. I let out a sigh and just stared at my cousin. Tanya started talking again and I heard what she was saying, but my mind was back in Chicago but try as I might I couldn't get that woman out of my head.

After all that time at the mall I drove us back to my grandparents' house – but I would classify it as an estate. But I suppose my grandfather can afford it with being a retired doctor specializing in neurosurgery; yet another nail in my coffin in how I've disappointed my father.

"Let me know if you decide to pick a fight with Uncle Carlisle, I want to make sure I have a front row seat for the fireworks." I ignored her attempt to rile me up, plus I knew that she was telling me, without _actually_ telling me, that I'd better be on my best behavior and that my dad was already on one of his tirades. I swear I wonder how mom puts up with him sometimes – then I remember that his disapproval is always directed towards me.

I helped Tanya into the house and hurried up to the room I would be sharing with Emmett for the duration of this trip and put my clothes up in the closet. Why did everything I do remind me of Bella? I knew that we weren't exactly together, but dammit that woman was constantly on my mind. Every time I would look at something outside the window of the car I wondered if Bella liked that as well or if she hated it. I barely even know this woman and it still amazed me at how much space she takes up in my mind.

Dinner time finally came around and the entire family, extended family included, sat down for a formal dinner. Everyone was making small talk getting all the information about everyone. I knew better though. No one was bothering to ask me what I was doing with my life right now, but then I knew why that was the case – no one wanted to piss off my father. I'm not even sure why he thinks so lowly of someone who would rather teach someone how to eat better and exercise in the right way, than work eighty plus hours a week and drowning with debt. I knew that I wouldn't have to have worried about the student loans if I had gone to medical school. With my grandfather being a renowned neurosurgeon, and my father being a well-liked trauma surgeon I would either not have to worry about the loans or not worry about how long it would take me to pay the loans back.

"So Edward, how is your personal trainer business going? Emmett's told me a lot about how you've been getting more and more clients." I smiled at my Aunt Dorthea, she was my father's older sister and she was always the go between dad and me recently. I casually explained what all was going on and how many clients we've had since we put the ad out in the paper. I chanced a glance over to my father and I could tell that he was very uncomfortable.

_Good, let him be the uncomfortable one for once._

Dinner went on without an outburst from either me or my dad; so all in all I'd say that dinner was a success.

I excused myself and went to the family room and sat down in front of the fire. I was mesmerized by the flames that I hadn't noticed that my grandfather sat down next to me. We sat in comfortable silence for a while before he finally spoke. "What's the girl's name that's got my grandson so unfocused?" I looked at him confused and wondered how he even knew I had been thinking about Bella this entire trip so far. "Don't look at me like that. I may be older than dirt to you, but I'm still your grandfather and I know when someone is in love. Now tell me, what's the lucky girl's name?" My grandfather said as he elbowed me gently. After a bit more prodding on his part I finally caved and told him all I knew about Bella. I mentioned that she had two children, while making to leave out the part where she has a husband. My grandfather seemed to approve of Bella and that really excited me.

"Grandpa, why do you think dad disapproves of my decision to not become a doctor like him? I mean, I still help people; I make sure that they aren't sick and I help them eat better. I would assume that he would be happy with that at least." I knew that I probably wouldn't get the answer I was looking for from my retired neurosurgeon of a grandfather, but I wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Edward, your father is a very complicated man; always has been. From the time he was old enough to play with my doctor bag he wanted to be a doctor, and when he applied to medical school and got waitlisted I wasn't going to help him, but when he came to me and told me how much he wanted to be doctor, to help people, I pulled some strings and got him into the John Hopkins Medical School and the rest is history.

Now, I think the reason your father and you butt heads is a simple thing – you never really knew what you wanted to be, and when you had just turned six years old, you would always tell him that you wanted to be a doctor like him. That really struck a chord with him. I got a phone call from him telling me how proud he was that you wanted to be a doctor just like him. But as we all know, things change; you decided that you no longer wanted to be a doctor, BUT you still wanted to help people. Your father will come around to understand that this is what you want to do and that this is what you're good at. I ask you to just not try and pick a fight with him. I had completely forgotten about the fact I wanted to be a doctor just like my father when I was younger.

I've felt that I've always known that I wanted to help people stay fit and eat healthier, and to find out that the reason my father acts as if he doesn't want to be even in the same room as me is that I no longer wanted to be like him both saddened me and infuriated me. I suppose I could see his side of things, but isn't the first rule of being a parent is to put the needs and wants of your kids before your own?

My grandfather left me to mull over the information he bombarded me with and I found myself taking in the view of the eight-foot tall Christmas tree. The base was surrounded by presents and decorated to the point I was fairly certain that there was no bare space left on this tree.

I was about to head up to bed when I felt my phone buzz from my pocket. When I pulled it out and saw that it was a text from Bella I debated whether or not to open it. My curiosity got the best of me though. With a few swipes of my fingers I read the text message. What I read wasn't what I was expecting, and at the same time I had no clue what she was trying to say.

_Edward  
we need to talk face 2 face.  
I wont tell you over text.  
I hope youre having a good holiday  
-Bella_

_Shit!_

What was it that she wanted to tell me that she couldn't tell me over the phone that she wanted to meet in person?

One thing was certain, and that was that I would definitely not be getting a good night's sleep tonight – or any night until I found out what Bella wanted to tell me.

* * *

**What are your thoughts? What could Bella have to say to him? Is she pregnant? (this particular one has been a running theory among you lovely readers) Could she want to end their relationship? Is she finally leaving Garrett?**

**Well you will all find out for sure this Friday ;)**


	16. I Knew You Were Cheating

**I am back! SO sorry for not updating this past Friday. It was for multiple reasons, and long story short I forgot to update; and i went back and made very minor changes to this chapter and added a scene to the end.**

**Let me know what you think.**

**This chapter is titled** _I Knew You Were_ Cheating** by **Keith Sweat**.**

* * *

I took a sip from my glass of sparkling cider as I looked around the room before me. It was a bit stale in my opinion, I mean the room barely looked lived in; it was like they only used them room for entertaining purposes only. I still have no idea why I agreed to come with Garrett to his office Christmas party. I would much rather stay home with the kids instead of pretending that I actually gave a damn about the people Garrett worked with.

The fact that I was almost certain that he was cheating on me – though he had been home more often and not working as long of hours.

I will say that it was a good thing that children were allowed to come to the party as well; what with Victoria and James in England, Alice was at the party as well, and Rosalie was working at a second job she picked up at a grocery store to make a little extra spending money – for a girl who is worth practically millions it surprises me that she doesn't use that money.

Alex and Charlotte were around here someplace having fun with the others kids at the party. I stiffened when I saw Alex and Arron run through the room giggling. Kate never once mentioned anything about who Arron's father was, but the more I saw Arron around my son the more I was sure that Arron was Garrett's.

"Would you like a refill ma'am?" The polite waitress said. I shook my head no and asked if the glasses she had on the tray was champagne. When she nodded her head I didn't wait to hear her verbal reply, I grabbed a glass and gulped the entire thing down and set it back on the tray and walked away to try and find my sister. Garrett had been by my side most of the night, but as time went on he said that he wanted to schmooze with his bosses and that he would be back.

That was almost a half hour ago.

I was searching the whole house when I saw my sister with Jasper talking with someone in the kitchen near the sink. She looked familiar, but I wasn't sure how I knew her. It wasn't until Alice introduced us that I realized who this woman was. She was Aro's wife. He was one of the men who owned the law firm. Garrett said something about meeting up with him to schmooze him into getting a promotion, but I could see Aro in the entertainment room from my vantage point and my husband was not in that room.

"Hey, so Jane here was telling me how she managed to get the latest Gucci shoes she's wearing. I think she's even going to try and get me an advance pair isn't that awesome!" My sister gushed. I sighed and placated her. I was to the point that I wanted to go home and go to bed. The clock in the kitchen showed that it was nearly ten o' clock and the amount of people who attended the party seemed to have doubled in size – either that or I was just getting old.

A different waiter came in offering cocktails. I didn't even ask what kind they were and grabbed one that was a mixture of blue and pink in it. Like the champagne, I swallowed the drink in one gulp and slapped it back down on the tray. I ignored the shocked and concerned look my sister was giving me and decided to search for Garrett myself.

I checked both upstairs and downstairs and I couldn't find him anywhere. I was at the point where I would just take the kids and head home; and let Garrett find his own way home. I had just passed by the broom closet that was just off the main kitchen, when I heard a mixture of moaning and giggling coming from inside.

_Wow, talk about classy…_

But then I heard a very familiar voice. I mean it couldn't be him could it? It had to be the alcohol affecting my hearing right?

The alcohol I drank earlier this evening seemed to help me find the courage to open the door, and if it was physically possible for your jaw to drop to the floor; I'm almost certain that mine would be on the floor.

It's one thing to find out that your husband is fooling around on you from a private detective, but to see your husband and his secretary practically naked and having sex in the broom closet at an office Christmas party is first hand is something I wished I never had seen.

Garret stumbled to try and apologize, but I didn't wait around to listen to his lame-ass apology. Thankfully Charlotte and Alex were downstairs and I told them to get their coats; they weren't sure what was going on, but they definitely knew I was upset because neither one of them bugged me about why we were going. I heard Garrett yelling for me to wait so that he could talk to me, but I was way past talking. I picked Alex up and grabbed Charlotte's hand and headed out to the car.

I could hear Garrett yelling for me to not go, that he wanted to explain what I saw – what I _saw_ needed no explanation.

Looking back at everything now, I can honestly say that I was in a permanent case of denial. Even after the private investigator telling me he found a lot of strange withdrawals from our joint account, I wasn't able to wrap my head around the reason my husband told me he was working late hours and seven days a week was because he was boning his fucking secretary!

"Mommy why are you crying?" Alex asked innocently from the back seat. I glanced up at my reflection in the rear view mirror and saw that my mascara was seconds from smearing down to my cheeks – so much for waterproof mascara. I calmly explained that it wasn't anything to worry about and that I would read him his favorite bedtime story to him if he went straight to his room and got into his pajamas.

I pulled in the driveway and was thankful I had beaten Garrett home. I parked the car in the garage and ushered my kids into the house and locked the door behind me. Charlotte stared up at me with concern, but Alex, who was too focused on getting to listen to his favorite bedtime story to notice that something was very wrong, hurried up the carpeted steps. I told Charlotte to get changed for bed, but she didn't move. I reassured her that I was fine and that she needed to go get ready for bed. She lingered for a few more seconds before hurrying up after her brother.

My first thought was to ransack the liquor cabinet and pour me a very tall glass of tequila Garrett had stashed away where he didn't think I would know about. But instead I found myself sitting on the couch and just staring at the empty fireplace. I wanted to cry; I wanted to scream, hell, at this point I wanted to feel something besides the overwhelming depression I was feeling.

I went to the cabinet and opened the bottle of Jose Cuervo and was about to pour a glass, but then decided that the feelings I had needed to be squashed and a small glass of this tequila wasn't going to do it. I took a very big swig of the Jose and immediately felt a thousand times better…at least for a few seconds, but then the pounding heartache I was feeling returned. I was just about to take another swig when Alex came halfway down the stairs and his voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear him.

I didn't even get to the part of _"Little Red Riding Hood"_ where Red gets to the grandmother's house before Alex was sound asleep and softly snoring. Why a four year old wants to listen about how a little girl is tricked and eaten by the wolf, but then saved by the woodsman, was beyond my current comprehension. I flipped the light off and went to check on Charlotte, she was wide awake and sitting up in her bed. I sighed and sat down on the end of her bed staring at her. I knew she wanted to know what was going on and if I was ok.

"Why did we leave without daddy? Did he do something bad?" At this moment, and how I was feeling, I hated how observant my daughter could be at times. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain to my eight year old daughter that her daddy cheated on her mommy with his secretary, oh and you may or may not have a five year old half-brother.

_Yeah, that's something you want to tell your eight year old daughter._

I told my daughter that I was mad at her father, but that he and I would talk about it later. I could tell that she didn't fully believe what I was telling her, but she agreed to let it go and crawled back under her covers and drifted off to sleep.

As for me, well I went back downstairs to meet up with Mr. Jose Cuervo.

But Jose would have to wait, because I saw headlights shine through the curtains. I peeked out from behind the curtain and saw that it was Garrett being dropped off by a taxi. Quickly as possible I put the bottle of tequila back in the liquor cabinet. I was almost up the flight of stairs, but stopped mid stride as I heard the door unlocking. I knew that he would want to talk, and all I wanted to do at the moment was get as far away from his as I could.

When our eyes connected, for a brief moment of time I was jolted back to when we first met and our eyes connected when he helped me up off the cold hard ground. W

_Where was that man? Where is the man that promised to love me in sickness and health? Where is the man that took an oath to honor and cherish me?_

"Bella, I –"

"No. I don't want to hear what you have to say." I sounded a lot braver than I really felt. I was afraid I would burst into tears any second. Garrett looked hurt and guilty – GOOD! He deserves to feel guilty for what he's put me through.

I wanted to yell and scream at him – hell, I wanted to beat the living snot out of his lying, cheating ass. But I managed to keep that urge at bay for now.

"I didn't want you to find out this way…"

_Oh he did not just try and weasel his way out of this?_

"Oh so you were going to tell me 'eventually'? Because it looked like you weren't planning on telling me anything any time soon!"

"Bella, please don't do this. Let's go to bed and we can talk about this with cooler heads." As Garrett started walking up the stairs I blocked his path.

"You can sleep on the couch – just be glad I'm not making you sleep at a hotel! I don't want to talk to you at all right now." Before Garrett could try and finish his plea to sleep in the same bed as I me, I stormed up the stairs and slammed the door to the bedroom and locked it tight behind me.

_How did my life get to this point? How could I have been so blind to not see that Garrett had been cheating on me for all this time?_

I slipped into my pajamas and sat down on the window seat looking out into the cool December night. Snow covered everything, it was amazing that the roads were cleared enough that I didn't have any trouble driving home – especially in the daze I was in.

Christmas would be in a few days and I couldn't help but imagine how awkward it would be with the whole family here and Garrett and I on the outs. There was a small chance that I could maybe hide the fact that I was considering divorcing Garrett.

_Would I really divorce him? _

A part of me wanted to forgive him and try and make it work, but the other, the side that was more logical and level headed, told me – more like screamed at me – to file divorce papers. He has been having this affair with Kate for over five years and there would be no way that he would end this; especially with the possibility that Arron was Garrett's son.

I glanced back at the clock and saw that it was getting even later than I first had thought. I was about to attempt to fall asleep when I had the sudden urge to send a text message. I'm not sure why I thought about Edward all of a sudden, but I didn't question it.

Now came what I should tell him. There was only so much I could say through a text message. There was no way that I could tell him all that's happened in a 160-character message, and there was absolutely that I could tell him through a phone call. No, this needed to be done face to face. So that's what I would do.

_Edward  
we need to talk face 2 face.  
I wont tell you over text.  
I hope youre having a good holiday  
-Bella_

That would have to do for now. There was so much that I needed to tell him, and none of it could be done over the phone.

I was almost asleep when I heard faint whisperings from the hallway. I snuck to the top of the stairs and heard soft whispers. I inched closer to get a better look, and saw my son down on the couch with Garrett. My son couldn't whisper to save his life, so I was able to listen to the entire conversation.

"Daddy, why you not up in your bed? Mommy always says that we sleep in our beds not on couch."

"Well Alex, mommy and I are not getting along right now. So that's why I'm sleeping downstairs, now do you want me to come upstairs with you and tuck you back into bed?" I saw my son's head shake in agreement and raced back up the stairs. I quickly stepped out of sight and back into my bedroom. I'm not sure but I think Garrett might've figured out that I was spying on him and Alex. I say this, because I saw his face just as I quietly shut the door and locked it.

I let out a sigh and tried to regulate my breathing. I wasn't sure what to make of what I saw just now. I mean on the one hand I am so hurt and so angry that he has been lying and cheating in our marriage for the past five years. But then what I saw downstairs, that was the man I fell in love with. He loves his children and he is an awesome father.

I suppose we just don't work well together anymore.

With a sigh I crawled back into bed, it took a bit of self-coaxing, but soon sleep came easy for me and I drifted into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**Well, now Bella knows that Garrett has been cheating. What are your thoughts? How do you think she should proceed? It's almost Christmas, so should she file for divorce right away - do they even have lawyers working so close to christmas (honest question). **

**Or should Bella wait until after Christmas and New Year's before filing for divorce? I want to hear what you all have to say, and I will see you all this Friday for sure!**

**- Megan**


	17. Battlefield

**Here I am!**

**This chapter ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, but don't worry she will be just fine. ;)**

**I want to thank once again **dolphin20**, **NemoNewbie**, and** Susan Robinson**!.**

**This chapter is titled, **Battlefield** by **Jordin Sparks.

* * *

It's been a few months since I saw first-hand Garrett in the middle of having sex with Kate, his secretary at the office party at Garrett's boss's house.

Christmas was thankfully uneventful. Neither I nor Garrett wanted to tell our families that I had filed for divorce and were currently living separately – at least we would start doing so after Christmas and New Years. I found it somewhat ironic how easy it was for Garrett to pretend like we were still the happy perfect family. The charade was going fairly well until it came time for everyone to leave. Alice gave me an extra-long hug and whispered in my ear:

"_I am not stupid Bella, I know that you and Garrett are heading for a divorce; just know that me and Rosie support you."_

I was left speechless as my sister smiled and quickly left out into the cold Chicago air.

Had I really been that blind, that everyone knew how unhappy Garrett and I truly were?

But then came New Year's Eve, man that was a much more exciting time. A new year, a fresh start. I had talked with a friend of Jasper's who was a divorce lawyer when I went to Alice's townhouse for New Years. I agreed to let Garrett take the kids with him to spend New Year 's Eve with him and his parents. I needed some alone time, and especially some alone time with my intuitive sister and her husband, and her husband's parents.

Though I felt a bit out of place, it was nice to get to spend time with my sister and a small group of friends. Rosalie was here too, she mentioned in passing that her and Emmett seemed to be hitting it off rather well. They had been on a total of eight dates and he hadn't even pressured her to have sex with him. My personal thought on that particular subject is that I think they both are a bit afraid to make the first move – no one wants a repeat of the Royce incident again.

When it got closer to midnight I was all alone, and it didn't help that Edward was all the way in Florida with his family. With ten seconds to the New Year, I heard my phone ding with a text message and it was from Edward wishing me a Happy New Year.

_Awe, he even added a smiley face and a heart._

It wasn't until almost March until I got word back from that lawyer friend of Jasper's. By then Garrett and I sat down with Charlotte and Alex and explained how daddy wasn't going to be living in the same house as us anymore. Being the strong-willed daughter that she is, Charlotte put on a brave face and agreed, but I could tell that Alex was having a hard time wrapping his little head around how much his life was about to change.

Samuel Uley was his name and he was top of his class at Harvard Law – yes I googled him after the New Year's party. He has a high success rate and his clients almost always won their cases. When I spoke to him at the party I told him that I probably couldn't afford his retainer fee. Samuel said that Jasper had given him a brief overview of the circumstances, and he wouldn't charge me the fee. I was speechless I didn't know what to say, so I did the only thing I knew how; and that was just nod like a complete idiot and thank him profusely.

"So, daddy's not gonna live here no mores? 'den where he gonna sleep?" My son asked. Ok, my heart broke a bit. Garrett calmly explained that "mommy and daddy are no longer happy together and are going to try to be friends, but live in different houses." This seemed to make a bit more sense to my son, but he still didn't like that his daddy wouldn't be in the same house as him. Garrett assured him that he would still see him and Charlotte, but it just wouldn't be all the time.

Though the kids didn't take the news well, Edward responded to the news by giving the most passionate kiss I think I've ever had – if that's even possible. I haven't introduced the kids to Edward yet, and Edward agreed to wait until the time was right. That same day I told Edward about the divorce, he found a way to get me into bed with him; but we all know that I didn't need much coaxing.

It wasn't until the beginning of April – April 1st even – that Garrett, his attorney, a woman with shoulder length brown hair and a tanned complexion to match, myself, and Samuel went to court. I was very thankful that Alice and Rosalie agreed to spend the day with the kids. My parents were kept in the loop through text messaging and Alice calling Charlie – who had no idea, and didn't want to learn, how to text message.

The entire time was spent listening to both Samuel and the woman, whose name I learned was Emily, argue continually back and forth. I swear, my son and daughter never argue as much as these two. But something was off with these two, and I was proven right in their opening arguments.

…

"_Mr. Jacobsen, isn't it true that you spend sixty plus hours working at Katz Law Firm? Who's to say that if you are awarded joint custody, at best I might add that you would actually have the time to spend with your son and daughter?" Samuel spoke sternly. He had a point, but his tone was very demeaning. I knew that Garrett cheated, but he has always been a very attentive father. _

_I had tried to tell Sam to cool it, but he assured me that he was just doing his job. _

_But then when it came time for Garrett's attorney to talk about how good a father Garrett was, and that it was 'her client' that provided for me and the kids._

"_Mrs. Jacobsen, isn't true that your husband," I was about to correct her, but she beat me to it, "I'm sorry, you're "soon to be ex-husband" provides a very well established lifestyle for you?" I wanted to object to her, but I was ordered to answer the question only with a yes or no. I grumbled out a 'yes' and crossed my arms over my chest._

"_Isn't it also true that you have to means of providing for your children once the divorce is final? Don't tell me that you plan on living off the alimony you are sure to be rewarded with." This woman was seriously in this to win this. She would stop at nothing to paint me as this gold-digging wife looking to scrape together anything I could get my hands on!_

…

That entire court session was a waste of time. We got nowhere, and the judge ruled that we take a few days to go back to mediation and try and work everything out there, and then try court again if there was no agreement.

It wasn't until after the judge adjourned the session that I learned the reason both Samuel and Emily were brutal in the courtroom. They were 'effing' married! They were both divorce attorneys and thrived on the thrill of outdoing the other. If I would have known that then I would never have asked him to represent me. Garrett came and found me just as I was walking down the steps of the courthouse. He told me that he had fired Emily, and that he had no idea that she was going to try and paint me as this gold digger. I could tell by the look in his eyes that what he was telling me was the truth.

Both Garrett and I agreed that we should get rid of the lawyers and try a less extreme approach. A few days later we tried seeing a marriage counselor, and that went about as well as the court hearing. We were asked why we were divorcing and that got us started in this big argument about Garrett cheating on me for the past five years, and me constantly nagging him about, to him, little things.

It was getting closer to the end of April, and Garrett's schedule was somewhat calm as of late. Alice had mentioned during one of her, what she called, and therapeutic shopping trips that Garrett and I should try mediation again, but with a different person; and leave lawyers out of it. I wasn't holding my breath, I was preparing for what happened with the counseling, and the court hearing, to happen today as well.

When it came time to make an attempt at this mediation, I agreed to let Garrett's mother watch the kids for today. Speaking of his mother, since I filed for divorce she has looked at me with a bit of distain – like it's my fault her son cheated on his wife for a long period of time. I didn't bother starting an argument and dropped them off with her. When I got the building, I looked over the building directory mounted on the wall across from the elevators. I skimmed through the different business and finally found the one I needed.

_White and co. Mediation & Counseling – fourth floor, 428_

The elevator dinged and I was met with a blinding canary yellow-painted wall with a deep pumpkin color accented crown molding. If she was going for bright and chipper, I think she passed it a few shades back I think. But then I saw the door I needed and walked right in. A receptionist greeted me and took me to the conference room. This office was a welcome relief to my senses, it was a more muted, more calming environment compared to the obnoxious colors out in the hallway. Garrett appeared in the conference room a few minutes after I did and we patiently waited, in uncomfortable silence, until the mediator finally made his or her appearance.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Jacobsen, I want to take the time to say "Thank you" to both of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come to this mediation session today. My name is Marissa White, why don't you both take a seat." This woman looked like she could be Rosalie's twin sister; it was uncanny how much she looked like her. She had the same blonde hair, same brown eyes – hell; she even had the same lipstick shade as Rosalie did. "Now I had a chance to look over your guys' files and I see here that both of you have decided not to have attorney's present today. It also says that both of you have signed a prenuptial agreement when you both got married. I looked over that as well, and I saw that both of you had added in an infidelity clause." This wasn't news to me, I knew about the agreement; I knew about the infidelity clause, I knew that I would be awarded everything. But I didn't want everything; I just wanted custody of my children, and enough money to be able to find a home big enough for me and my kids.

I glanced up at the clock; It was ten in the morning on a Monday. I swear God had a sense of humor for allowing this mediator chick to schedule us for an early session on a Monday! Then I got to thinking. I knew that the divorcing process could take anywhere from two months to years!

_I hope that it doesn't take years…_

Both Garrett and I verbally acknowledged that we signed the infidelity clause of the pre-nup and that I was accusing Garrett of breaking the clause.

This is why we are now here in a conference room of a mediation office.

"It says here in the infidelity clause both of you signed, which if either party were to have had an extra marital affair that the spouse who had the affair would receive little to no compensation in the event of a divorce." I felt my pulse quicken as she continued to read all of the paperwork we had to hear about in court with the lawyers.

The mediator had mentioned that I had cited 'irreconcilable differences' under where it states 'reason for divorce', and asked me to elaborate on that. I calmly told her that I had hired a private investigator who had found tangible proof that Garrett had cheated on me for an extended period of time. I handed the file Jenks had originally given to me to the mediator.

I didn't miss the subtle glare she gave Garrett once she finished looking it over.

Then I felt my chest tighten when I thought about how I was no better. I had cheated with Edward, technically twice, while we were still technically married.

I could hear my sisters both yelling in my ears to, _"keep your damned mouth shut, you get the house, the cars, and most importantly the MONEY!"_

Just as the mediator was about to start talking about the house and whether or not it had been paid off, I shouted the last thing I expected to leave my mouth.

"I had an affair! Well…it was more like a one night stand…that kind of, maybe turned into more…" Both Garrett and the mediator stared at me dumbfounded. Marissa, the mediator, wasn't sure how to address what I had just admitted, and Garrett was rendered speechless. Is it bad that I took sick pleasure in how he had no idea that I was just as devious as he was; I didn't think so, and I smiled to myself for shocking him like I did.

"I see, well I will make sure to make a note of that…at this time I'm unsure as to how, or _if_, this will affect the outcome of the divorce. How do you feel about this new piece of information Mr. Jacobsen?" I looked over at Garrett for the first time this entire session and saw that he was definitely thinking about he should answer this loaded question. I knew that if he was angry at all, that there was a chance I would end up with nothing and I would have to either move in with Alice, Rosalie, or god forbid…move back to Forks, WA. But then I realized that he was at fault, he was the one who had been cheating for five years and that I was the victim, I could actually win this thing possibly.

"I should be angry; hell if circumstances were different I would be pissed off. But I know now that neither of us has been happy in this marriage for quite some time. So, that is why I am comfortable with giving you the house and the Explorer, Bella." And before the mediator could ask any other questions, he had said that both house and the car had been paid off.

This was typical Garrett, he had always been the type of person who hated making payments on things, he would much rather buy it flat out. He added that he had paid bulk payments on the house to make sure that the house mortgage was paid off, and the cars were as well oddly enough.

"So, if I am to understand what you're saying Garret, you are willing to give Bella the house, and her the car?" Garrett nodded in agreement.

Then came the part I had been dreading – and that was who would be awarded custody of Charlotte and Alex? This is what it all boiled down to for me; it didn't matter if I had all the money, but if I still had Charlotte and Alex then this whole divorce would've been worth it.

"Both of you would like to maintain full custody, but I do have to ask; Mr. Jacobsen, if you were awarded joint custody how would you make time for your son and daughter when you work numerous hours a week?" I started chewing the inside of my cheek. It was a fair point, but I just hoped that this wouldn't be a repeat of how Samuel slammed into Garrett about his parenting of Alex and Charlotte. "Well, if I were to get joint custody of Alex and Charlotte then I would hire a babysitter to stay with the children until I got home from work." I wanted to scream at him that I didn't like the idea of a strange person staying with my children during the day while Garrett was at work. I had just worked up the nerve to do just that, when the receptionist poked her head in and told Marissa that a client had arrived for their appointment. Instead of ending our session she told "Caroline" that they could sit in the reception area.

"Now Mr. Jacobsen, I will agree that you have put in a lot of thought into what you would do if you were awarded joint custody, but you cannot sit here and claim that you will have a babysitter to be with your children while you're at work. I am more comfortable with awarding Mrs. Jacobsen with physical custody of Charlotte and Alex. Now what this would mean for you Mr. Jacobsen is that your children would live with Bella, but you would still have legal custody of your children. Do you understand what this means?" Garrett nodded his head. I had done some research, and legal custody was the same as joint custody, and physical custody meant that Charlotte and Alex would live with me full time. It wasn't what Garrett wanted, but he seemed to like that he would still have a say when it came to what to do if either Charlotte or Alex were to get sick.

Finally after about five hours of mediation we came to terms on an agreement and were able to resolve the divorce. Garrett would get the kids every weekend, and half of the summer. It would take another few weeks before the paperwork could be filled out and everything would be final. I agreed to every weekend, only because I was fairly certain there would be some weekends when Garrett's work would require him to be there more than just during the week.

It was strange how much weight felt like it was lifted from my body after the mediation session.

Garrett and I rode the elevator, and walked to our cars in an awkward silence.

I had just got to my car door when Garrett finally spoke, "I want to meet him." I froze. Did he mean he wanted to meet Edward? I was about to ask when, "The guy you're seeing. If he is going to spend time around my kids, I want to meet him for myself." I tried my hardest to will my cheeks to stop flushing. "I'll let him know that you want to meet him. But know that he loves children Garrett, he's a very good man." It felt awkward talking about Edward to Garrett, but at the same time it felt very refreshing to be able to hold an actual conversation with him for once. It was the first civil conversation we had that didn't end up in a yelling match.

Celia still had Alex and Charlotte for a few more hours, so I decided to meet up with Edward. We haven't made love for quite some time, but it was mainly due to all the stress of the divorce. There was, however, one night after my workout session. Emmett was out with Rosalie at some fancy French restaurant, I didn't need much persuasion and I followed Edward up to his apartment. God that was the most wonderful two hours of my life. I still can't believe he made me have multiple orgasms, I didn't know that was even physically possible.

Since I really hadn't had sex with him except for that one time, it meant I actually got to know him on a more personal level. I learned that he is very good at music – he even took piano lessons as a child. I learned that his favorite food is a good burrito from Taco Bell; something that I now tease him about, seeing as how he is a personal trainer. He told he has two middle names, but there's a reason for that. He is named after both of his great grandfathers. Edward _Anthony Masen_ Cullen.

Before Garrett walked away to find his car, I asked him how everything with Kate was going. He told me that they were taking a break during this whole divorce process. I should be angry that he is still seeing her, but I wasn't. I was actually happy that he had someone he could be happy with. I had Edward, and he made me the most happiest I've been in a very long time.

Then I remembered Kate's son, Arron. He _had_ to be Garrett's son. I mean there's no question about it. Arron has Garrett's hair color and his goofy grin even. I wasn't planning on telling him, but I suppose that he needed to know the truth.

A ragged sigh left my body and I walked around my car and looked Garrett square in the eye and told him about the information J. Jenks had showed me about Kate and Arron, and if he did the math, that there was no denying that Arron was his son. At first Garrett blew me off and told me that I just had an overactive imagination, but then he started to really think about what I had said. His laughter ceased, and his expression turned cold. I handed him the file that J. Jenks had put together on Kate and her son Arron.

I hated telling him this, though I will admit that being able to witness karma catching up with him did amuse me quite a bit. He quickly made up an excuse to leave and sped out of the parking lot away leaving me to stand there feeling guilty yet at the same time euphoric.

_~*MTAONS*~_

"So now do we just wait for the divorce to be finalized? If that's the case then you can finally make an honest man out of me – wait, I didn't mean it the way it sounded." It was Edward's turn to blush a nice shade of pink. I liked seeing him blush, I imagine this is how I look when I blush as well.

Laughter started pouring from me and I assured him that I knew what he meant – he and I would finally be able to be public about his and my relationship. Alex and Charlotte have yet to meet him, but I decided to hold off on that until after Garrett meets Edward – lord knows no one wants to see Garrett get into a pissing match and threaten to call his lawyer and file for custody.

I was in bed snuggled up next to him. Alice decided to hold my kids, as she called it, "hostage", but I knew that she wanted to spend some time with her niece and nephew. She also added something about me being crabby because I wasn't getting enough sex. I swear that woman and my brother-in-law must screw like little bunny rabbits; it's a wonder I'm not already an aunt.

I chewed my bottom lip as I watched this gorgeous Adonis get up out of bed and walk to the bathroom stark naked.

_God, I could stare at his ass for hours_.

I was thinking about seeing if Edward was up for round three, when all of a sudden I felt a wave of nausea come over me; it got so bad that I contemplated running into the bathroom and throwing up. Then it hit me like a Mack truck; I sat up suddenly, making sure to keep my bare chest covered. I had just realized that I should've had my period already.

I didn't want to panic. I had taken the Depo-Provera shot about two months ago, and it's known to cause my cycle to be irregular. I didn't want to have to worry about remembering to take that damned tiny pill every month, so I resorted to getting the shot; it starts working immediately and is good for a lot longer than just a monthly pill. I also heard that if you get the shot, that it's less likely to get pregnant; but then I got pregnant with Alex even after the shot.

_Don't worry Bella; it's just your imagination. You can't be pregnant; it's a small chance – even if you 'did' have Alex after having the shot. _

Ok, I needed to get out of here. I needed to get to the corner store and get a home pregnancy test – or two…maybe three.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" I froze at the door and realized that in getting dressed I had forgotten one vital thing.

I turned around and there he was, my Adonis was holding my panties and swinging them around on his index finger.

Now, I don't normally go all commando, but the few times I've stayed the night at Edward's I've worn jeans and he's been known to hold my panties ransom until the next time I see him. But since I've been working out more, I've found myself wearing skirts. I just love showing off my toned legs.

I knew I was blushing three shades of red when I quickly grabbed them and hurried out of his apartment building and to the nearest corner pharmacy.

After a very embarrassing encounter with the girl behind the cash register I was back at the house. Just to be certain I bought three different pregnancy tests. This meant that I would have to drink gallons of water, but I was in a hurry and grabbed a gallon of Sunny Delight orange juice with the three pregnancy tests at the store. I forced myself to drink the entire gallon. Thankfully it didn't take long before the gallon of orange juice caught up with me and I was able to supply enough pee for three tests.

Now all that I had to do was wait and see what they said. I about gasped when I glanced down at the three tests. It didn't even take the full two minutes for the tests to show the results.

_They all had the damned __ sign._

I had a mixture of emotions, I was ecstatic that I was pregnant, but then I also realized that my divorce wasn't even finalized yet. Then I thought about how Edward would react when I told him the news. I mean, he and I were just getting to know one another better. He still had to meet Garrett, and then there were the kids. I knew that they would love him, but I wasn't sure how I would explain to them that on top of mommy and daddy getting divorced, mommy has a new boyfriend; oh and you're getting a new baby brother or sister.

The stress of the whole situation was getting to me. The couch looked comfy enough for a nap, but before lying down I double checked that the security alarm was on. When I was sure that it was armed I snuggled onto the couch in front of the fireplace and decided to rest my eyes.

.

Why was it so hot in here? Did I forget to switch the heat to the air conditioner? I barely opened my eyes, and what I saw a thick cloud of smoke that engulfed the entire sitting room.

It was getting hotter in here. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate. I just knew that I needed to get out of here. I tried to breathe, but that was a big mistake. I took in a lungful of smoke and started coughing as if I had been smoking six packs a day.

_I need to get out of here._

When I tried to sit up my body felt like it was being held down with lead weights. I managed to roll off the couch and on to the floor, but that was about as far as I got before the blackness of the smoke started to cloud my vision. I tried desperately to breathe in good air that was closest to the floor, but that didn't seem to be enough. I felt my consciousness slipping further and further away from my grasp.

.

"Mrs. Jacobsen, Mrs. Jacobsen, my name is Gabriella Rodgers, do you know what happened to you?" I cringed away from the suddenly loud voice and tried to open my eyes, but when I did my vision was blurred. My nose felt like it was dipped in acid, it hurt so badly. I reached up to try and rub the pain away, only to feel that I had some sort of mask covering my nose.

_An oxygen mask maybe?_

Then I remembered that the woman asked me if I knew what happened to me. I tried to shake my head no, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't, because the woman asked me again if I knew what happened to me.

"Mrs. Jacobsen,"

_Lord, help me remember to get my last name legally changed back to my maiden name; being constantly reminded of your failed marriage was getting old fast._

"The fire department was alerted by your security alarm that your house had caught fire. You were inside. Do you remember? Mrs. Jacobsen, I need you to tell me if you understand what I'm asking you."

"What about…baby?" I croaked. Then I felt myself being pulled back under into the darkness. I was trying to fight to stay awake. My thoughts were scrambled, first I was thinking about Alex and Charlotte, and then I thought about my Adonis.

As I was losing the battle to stay awake, I heard the woman start talking in code and yelling at the person driving – what I assumed as an ambulance – to drive faster.

That was my last conscious thought before I was pulled back down into the fog.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Was it an accident? Could it be related to Bella's almost mugging? Or is it a gang retaliation from Garrett's case? I want to hear your thoughts in the reviews and I will see you all next Wednesday! :)**

**- Megan**


	18. Important Author's Note!

**Ok, I apologize, but I will have to try and upload chapter 17 tomorrow, I thought I had had a working copy of the chapter on my phone (then emailed it to myself so I could then upload the chapter for fanfiction.)**

**PLEASE don't hate me, the next chapter is finished I swear I had to make last minute changes to better help the story flow.**

**I also hope that you all continue to follow this story, and see where it takes us (It has a happy ending I swear) lol**

**Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please bear with me as I work through the mixup**

**ALSO ANOTHER REASON TO STAY TUNED IS THAT THERE IS AN AWESOME FIGHT BETWEEN GARRETT AND EDWARD IN THE HOSPITAL ;)**


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